India’s ‘most predictable’ election begins with Modi accused of undermining rivals
Voting has begun in India’s general election, as Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party looks to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the country’s democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago.
Voting began at 8am today, with polling in 102 constituencies across the country, and will continue over the next six weeks, in seven phases, until 1 June. All the results will be counted and declared on 4 June.
The elections have been described by analysts at the most predictable polls India has held in decades, with Modi and his BJP widely assumed to win a third term in power.
While surveys have shown Modi to be India’s most popular political leader by a wide margin, his opponents have accused the government of “skewing the pitch” of the election and eroding the integrity of India’s democracy and electoral processes.
Critics allege that the BJP government has used tools of the state to go after and jail political opponents and undermined the independence of state institutions such as the election commission and the judiciary, charges the government denies.
The government is also accused of eroding the freedom of the press and attempting to suppress critical media. India’s press freedom ranking has fallen by more than 20 places since Modi came to power in 2014.
Rahul Gandhi, a former Congress party leader who lost the last two elections to Modi, called the 2024 poll a “rigged match” and said the fight against the BJP was a fight for “India’s democracy and constitution”.
Modi’s strength going into the polls has been attributed in part to his Hindu nationalist agenda, which has emphasised returning India to past Hindu civilisational greatness and has garnered considerable support across the Hindu majority country.
India’s minorities, particularly its 200 million Muslims, have faced increasing persecution, allegedly discriminatory laws and documented violence by the state and rightwing Hindu outfits affiliated with the BJP.
Among Modi’s voters was Bharat Sarkhejiye, 53, who runs an Ayurvedic medicine business in Modi’s home state of Gujarat. He described the prime minister as a “dynamic leader who is giving our country a new image” around the world.
“The BJP government under the leadership of Modi is important because they have bigger goals for the country,” said Sarkhejiye. “It is not about issues of roads and electricity, it is about the direction in which the country is going. Hindus have been discriminated against for a long time, and the only hope for us is Modi. I would be happy for them to change the constitution.”
The BJP campaign has also pushed how India is now the world’s fastest-growing economy, as well as its building of infrastructure, welfare schemes and international recognition of India as an emerging power.
rst landing on the moon last year, and the opening of the Ram Mandir temple in the holy city of Ayodhya in January, which was built on the site of a destroyed mosque and had been a core BJP pledge for decades, boosted Modi’s narrative.
“Under Modi, India could go to the moon and at the same time be proud of its culture and roots. Modi talks of development, dignity, and undoing historical wrongs,” said Divya, 27, an engineer from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, who said he would vote for the BJP today.
particularly for young people, and rising costs of goods could count against the BJP.
Ajay Lakhotra, 23, a law student from Jammu City, a BJP stronghold, said he would be voting for Congress today, citing unemployment. “Under the BJP, our country is going towards extremism. As a young voter, this concerns me: I want development, better jobs, and a country that offers equal opportunities to people.”
Youngish Chopdar a 35-year-old Muslim who runs a restaurant in Jaipur, Rajasthan, said: “As a Muslim, I do not see a safe future if the BJP comes to power again … In this situation, voting against the BJP is a revolutionary act.”
‘As a Muslim, I do not see a safe future if the BJP comes to power again’
Youngish Chopdar Restaurateur, Jaipur