India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has claimed a landslide victory in national elections that cements the Hindu nationalist leader as the country’s most formidable politician in decades. The emphatic victory has been greeted with dismay among some members of religious minority groups, who have voiced fears that a returned Bharatiya Janata party government would be further emboldened to prosecute its Hindu nationalist agenda
Continue reading...Category Archives: India elections 2019
Rahul Gandhi loses his seat in Congress party landslide defeat
Party leader’s north Indian constituency was bastion of support for his famous family
As India’s opposition Congress party went down to a landslide defeat on Thursday, its leader, Rahul Gandhi, was also convincingly beaten in his own parliamentary seat – a north Indian constituency that had sent three of his family members to parliament in the past half-century.
The loss of the family bastion seat of Amethi underscored the dwindling relevance of south Asia’s most famous political dynasty in Narendra Modi’s “new India”, alongside the decline of the pluralistic vision of India that has been synonymous with the Nehru-Gandhi family for the past seven decades.
Continue reading...India election: Modi set for historic landslide victory
The hugely popular BJP Hindu nationalist leader brushes aside economic woes to claim another term
India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is on track for a historic landslide election victory that would cement the Hindu nationalist leader as the country’s most formidable politician in decades.
Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) had been expected to easily win a majority in coalition with smaller parties, but official results after nearly three hours of counting showed the party ahead in at least 290 seats, enough to claim an outright victory. Its main national opponent, Congress, was leading in just over 50 seats.
Continue reading...Indian elections: Modi on track for decisive victory, exit polls suggest
Voting has officially ended in country’s marathon six-week ballot
India’s prime minister and his allies are on track to decisively win a second term, according to exit polls released after voting officially ended on Sunday night in the country’s marathon six-week elections.
Sampling by six pollsters showed Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and its coalition winning between 287 and 336 seats. The final tally each survey predicted varied but were uniformly well above the 272 seats needed to form government in India’s lower house. Two surveys showed the ruling coalition falling short – by between five and 30 seats.
Continue reading...Praise for Gandhi assassin caps acrimonious Indian election campaign
PM admonishes candidates who lauded Mahatma Gandhi killer as a ‘patriot’
Campaigning in the most acrimonious election in recent Indian history has ended with an admonishment by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, of some of his hardline candidates for praising Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin.
A six-week campaign dominated by national security issues and increasingly brazen rhetoric came to a head this week after a candidate for Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh state said she believed Gandhi’s killer, Nathuram Godse, was “a patriot”. She later apologised. Three other BJP members also weighed in on Gandhi’s murder.
Continue reading...India elections: man chops off finger after voting for wrong party
Pawan Kumar had voted for Modi party in confusion over symbols on machine
A man has chopped off his index finger in desperation after voting for the wrong party in India’s general election.
Pawan Kumar became confused by the symbols on the electronic voting machine and voted for Narendra Modi’s party instead of its regional rival in Uttar Pradesh state on Thursday, his brother said.
Continue reading...The two MPs of British descent who do not have to stand in Indian election
Anglo-Indian George Baker, who occupies one of two reserved seats that are a relic of colonial rule, speaks to Michael Safi
Winning a seat in India’s parliament can take months of gruelling campaigning across vast electorates, often in stifling heat. Unless you are George Baker.
The award-winning actor from eastern India is one of just two members of the country’s 545-seat lower house whose name will not appear on any ballot in India’s six-week election season, which kicked off on Thursday.
Continue reading...India election 2019: marathon vote begins to decide Modi’s fate
Six weeks of voting begin with many viewing it as referendum on prime minister
The world’s largest ever election has started in India, with voters in 20 states casting their ballots in the first phase of a marathon six-week poll.
The contest in the vast country of 1.3 billion people is dominated by local issues but also viewed as a referendum on the prime minister, Narendra Modi, a staunch Hindu nationalist who rode a wave of popularity five years ago to become the first leader of a majority government in decades.
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