‘LOVE VS HATE’ IN 2ND LAST ROUND
Modi defends his economic record by striking a patriotic tone
TENS of millions voted yesterday in the penultimate round of India’s increasingly bad-tempered election, with all eyes on the coveted capital after an ugly campaign of slaps and savage pamphlets.
India’s almost-seven week election, the biggest on earth with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a new term from the 900 million voters, wraps up next week with results due on May 23.
Notoriously unreliable opinion polls put Modi, 68, as favourite but likely with a reduced majority, with the vote seen as a referendum on the Hindu nationalist’s five years in power.
Modi has sought to deflect opposition attacks on his economic record by striking a fiercely patriotic tone following February’s bust-up with Pakistan, portraying himself as India’s chowkidar or “watchman”.
He has also sought to turn the tables on corruption allegations levelled by Rahul Gandhi of the opposition Congress party, with claims Rahul’s assassinated father Rajiv used a Navy ship for a family holiday in 1988.
“Narendra Modi used hate and we used love, and I think love is
about to win (this election).
“We will respect whatever people decide,” Rahul, 48, said as he voted here yesterday.
The tussle for Delhi is front and centre, with all eyes on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or Common Man party, was formed seven years ago.
Arvind, 50, a tax commissioner turned campaigner, has suffered more than most in India’s notoriously rough-and-tumble political bullring.
Since 2013 and his first term as chief minister, he has been the target of at least seven attacks, including when his car was set upon by a mob with iron rods.
In November, his face was smeared with chilli powder inside the Delhi government building. Last week, a man climbed onto the top of the car he was campaigning in and slapped him.
AAP candidate Atishi Marlena broke down in tears last week after a vicious pamphlet accused her of being a prostitute and of having sex with a fellow teacher.
Both Atishi and Arvind accused Gautam Gambhir, a former cricketer and candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of being behind the pamphlet.
“People of Delhi have been fooled by a bunch of no-gooders who promised a new kind of politics. But they have become synonymous with anarchy and obstructionism,” Modi told a rally here on Wednesday.
Voting also took place in the eastern state of West Bengal, another key battleground where chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress party are seeking to stop Modi.
Yesterday, police with batons charged after locals pelted vehicles carrying BJP candidate Bharati Ghosh and her security staff with stones.
The Internet has also been a key arena in the election, with all parties, particularly the BJP, devoting major resources to social media, including through fake news, experts say.
Police in recent days detained a BJP activist after she posted a meme superimposing Mamata’s head on a picture of Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra at the Met Gala in New York.