Bollywood Modi biopic banned as India goes to the polls
INDIA’S election commission has blocked the release of a Bollywood biopic of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, a day before its scheduled premiere, claiming the film would further his party’s electoral prospects in general elections that begin today.
The commission, which oversees India’s parliamentary and provincial elections, ruled yesterday that releasing PM Narendra Modi would give an “unfair advantage” to Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that is seeking a second five-year term.
The order came in response to objections by the opposition Congress Party and stated that all “biopic material with the potential to create an uneven playing field during elections” should not be aired until the end of voting. The commission was also considering a ban on the 10-day old, 24-hour Namo news channel, named after the PM, stating that it violated the code of conduct for political parties at election time.
The first of seven rounds of voting in 91 of 543 parliamentary constituencies across the country will take place today amid tight security.
The remaining six rounds of polling will conclude on May 19 and election results will be announced four days later, on May 23. Meanwhile, opinion polls predict that Modi’s Bjp-led alliance will return to power by winning 272 seats, one more than the halfway mark needed to form the government.
This, however, indicates a sharp drop from the commanding majority of 336 seats that Modi’s National Democratic Alliance won in the 2014 elections, when he promised to turn India into an economic powerhouse and create a million jobs every month.
In the meantime, voters in Hailakandi district in India’s north-eastern Assam state can avail themselves of generous concessions on a range of products like jewellery, food and medicines, provided they vote.
To obtain the 10-15 per cent concession at all jewellery shops, eateries and pharmacies in the district, all they have to do is show the indelible ink mark on their index finger that proves they have cast their ballot.