Heavy turnout a good omen for Modi
ahmedabad — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat went to the polls on Saturday, in a key electoral test of his popularity after a series of controversial economic reforms.
Voters, with their election cards in hand, started lining up at polling booths early in the morning in Gujarat where Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held power for 22 years.
“Urging all those voting today to turnout in record numbers and vote. I particularly call upon youngsters to exercise their franchise,” Modi, who forged his political career in Gujarat, tweeted early on Saturday.
Modi built his reputation as an economic reformer in Gujarat which boomed under his rule, attracting investments from around the globe. But his recent reforms — a new national tax and a shock currency ban to fight graft — have hit India’s growth and hurt the very constituency of traders and small business owners who were his biggest supporters in the western state, polls found.
Experts say this election is a serious challenge to Modi as his rivals ride a wave of discontent over the stuttering economy, adding that voter anger over the reforms and a desire for change could boost the flagging fortunes of the opposition Congress Party.
Voting wrapped up at 5pm local time in the first stage of the election on Saturday, with 68 per cent turnout reported as polling booths shut down — much lower than the 71.3 percent registered at the last state election in 2012.
Political pundits guessed that a relatively lower turnout on Saturday meant voters were probably not as dissatisfied with the BJP as some analysts had predicted. “High turnout would have been high anti-incumbency. High turnout would have meant high level of anger,” political commentator Sagarika Ghose said on NDTV.
The Congress campaign has been spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi — the man likely to challenge Modi for premiership at the next general election in 2019.
The election is seen as a chance for Rahul to finally prove his mettle before he is named president of the party his mother Sonia has led for more than two decades.
A little over 21 million voters were eligible to cast their ballots on Saturday, according to the Election Commission of India. —