Indians vote in first phase of world’s biggest election as Modi seeks third term

NEW DELHI (AP) – Millions of Indians began voting Friday in a six-week election that is a referendum on Narendra Modi, the populist prime minister who has championed an assertive brand of Hindu nationalist politics and is seeking a rare third term as leader. from the country. .

Voters began lining up at polling stations hours before they were allowed in at 7 a.m. in the first 21 states where voting was held, from the Himalayan mountains to the tropical islands of Andaman. Almost 970 million voters – more than 10% of the world’s population – will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament for five years during staggered elections that will run until June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4.

This election is considered one of the most consequential in Indian history and will test the limits of Modi’s political dominance.

If Modi wins, he will be only the second Indian leader to retain power for a third term, after Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister.

Most polls predict a victory for Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, who face a broad opposition alliance led by the Indian National Congress and powerful regional parties.

It is unclear who will lead India if the opposition alliance, called INDIA, wins the election. Its more than 20 parties have not yet presented any candidates.

The BJP controls much of the Hindi-speaking areas of northern and central India, but is now trying to gain a foothold in the east and south. Their toughest challenge is in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, with 39 seats, where voting will be held on Friday.

Voters in Chennai, the hot and humid state capital, began quickly filling the city’s nearly 4,000 polling booths. Several of them said they would vote for a change in the federal government given rising prices, unemployment and religious polarization stoked by the BJP.

“The first thing I came to vote for is to have a country without any religious discord. In Tamil Nadu: Hindus, Muslims, Christians, we are all together. And this unity should grow,” said Mary Das, a 65-year-old woman, who was waiting to vote.

P. Chidambaram, leader of the opposition Congress Party and the country’s former finance minister, said the people of Tamil Nadu would not vote for the BJP because “it is imposing a language, a culture, a system and a type of food.”

The BJP has long struggled to capture votes in the state, where two powerful regional parties – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam – dominate. The BJP drew a blank in 2019 and won one seat in 2014.

Voting is also underway in the northeastern state of Manipur, where a year-long quasi-civil war has sparked ethnic violence. Mobs have razed villages and burned houses, while more than 150 people have died.

The election comes after a decade of leadership by Modi, during which the BJP has consolidated its power through a combination of Hindu politics and economic development.

Modi has ramped up Hindu nationalist rhetoric during the election campaign and has tried to present himself as a global leader. His ministers tout him as the administrator of a rising India, while his supporters celebrate his campaign promise to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th anniversary of independence.

But while India’s economy is among the world’s fastest growing, many of its people face increasing economic hardship. The opposition alliance hopes to take advantage of this, seeking to galvanize voters on issues such as high unemployment, inflation, corruption and low agricultural prices that have fueled two years of farmers’ protests.

The opposition and critics also warn that Modi has become increasingly illiberal. They accuse Modi of using tax authorities and police to harass the opposition and fear that a third term could undermine India’s democracy. His Hindu nationalist politics, they argue, have bred intolerance and threaten the country’s secular roots.

“Modi has a very authoritarian mentality. He doesn’t believe in democracy. He doesn’t believe in parliamentarism,” said Christophe Jaffrelot, a political scientist who has written about Modi and the Hindu right.

Modi insists that India’s commitment to democracy has not changed. At a Democracy Summit meeting in New Delhi in March, he said that “India is not only fulfilling the aspirations of its 1.4 billion people, but is also giving the world hope that democracy delivers and empowers.” .

The Indian leader, who enjoys great popularity among the country’s 1.4 billion inhabitants, is aiming for a two-thirds majority this time.

The BJP is hoping for a landslide victory driven by its popular welfare programmes, which it claims have improved access to clean toilets, healthcare and cooking gas, as well as providing free grains to the poor. Measures such as building a controversial temple dedicated to Ram on the site of a demolished mosque and dismantling the disputed Muslim-majority region of former Kashmir autonomy may resonate with his supporters who hail him as the champion of the Hindu majority.

“Any party coming back for a third term and with a gross majority is a terrifying prospect for democracy,” said Arati Jerath, a political commentator.

During Modi’s two terms, civil liberties in India came under attack and what critics say were discriminatory policies were implemented. Peaceful protests have been forcefully repressed. A once free and diverse press is under threat, violence is increasing against the Muslim minority, and government agencies have arrested opposition politicians in alleged corruption cases.

The BJP has denied that its policies are discriminatory and says its work benefits all Indians.

AP journalist Sibi Arasu contributed to this report from Chennai, India.