New Delhi – People began voting in India on Friday in what is expected to be the largest general election in world history, involving around 1 billion eligible voters. The election will be held in seven stages from Friday to June 1.
Election authorities are scheduled to announce the results on June 4th.
Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is vying for a third term in power. Pre-election polls are illegal in India, but polls show that Mr. Modi's overall approval rating rose to 75% in February, a 15% increase in the past two years. His supporters will argue that his soaring popularity is due to his work in elevating India as a great power onto the world stage, while his detractors will attribute it to his shrewd pro-Hindu and anti-Muslim They would say it's because of policy.
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But his party's victory is not guaranteed, and much more is at stake than just the people. most populous country in the worldBut for the broader tenet of democracy that has been a celebrated example of political freedom in Asia for decades.
An election of unfathomable scale
India is home to more than 1.4 billion people. At the time of the last national election in 2019, there were 912 million voters, but this year the number has increased to 969 million. By comparison, the United States is likely to have fewer than 170 million people eligible to vote heading into November's national elections. Ballot paper.
It took India's Election Commission months of preparation and the mobilization of around 15 million election officials and security staff to pull off the massive exercise in democracy.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) are sometimes transported to remote areas on horses or elephants, and can take nearly seven weeks to reach remote parts of the country where infrastructure is lacking. there is.
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The commission has set up more than 1 million polling stations across India, and the goal is for every voter to have a polling station within 2.24 miles of their home. He had one booth set up high in the Himalayas, and the polling station, at 15,256 feet above sea level, was touted as the highest polling station in the world.
The election management body announced that it will use 5.5 million EVMs. This machine was first introduced during the 1982 Indian national elections. Although some opposition parties have expressed concerns that EVMs are at risk of hacking and tampering, the commission and the government insist they are reliable.
What will Indians vote for in this election?
Voters will elect members of the National Assembly to fill 543 seats in the National Assembly (545 seats). His remaining two seats are nominated by the president. The party that wins a majority in the election will form the next government, and one of the winning candidates will be appointed Prime Minister of India.
The contest features six national parties, 57 state parties, and more than 2,500 small local parties. Not all political parties field candidates nationally. In total, fewer than 12 parties will account for his 86% of parliamentary seats.
One of the major political parties is Prime Minister Modi's Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has been steadily increasing in popularity since winning its first term in 2014.
The BJP's chief rival is the Indian National Congress (INC), the country's oldest political party and in power for more than 50 of India's 77 years as an independent nation.
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as prime minister, is Modi's fiercest opponent and the face of the country's political opposition.
What is a “fair and transparent” election process?
Last month, the INC party accused the Modi government of abusing federal tax authorities to suppress democracy and announced it had frozen its bank accounts over a tax dispute case.
former parliamentary leader Sonia GandhiThe current leader's mother said this was a “coordinated effort to financially paralyze the party”.
Rahul Gandhi said, “We don't have money to campaign. We can't support candidates. Our ability to fight elections is impaired.”
The Congress party also accused the “authoritarian” Modi government of “usurping democracy through extortion and financial terrorism”.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government, led by Prime Minister Modi, has denied the allegations.
Concerns have also been raised by the arrest on March 21 of Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of the vast Delhi-based capital region and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He was taken into custody by India's Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case was investigated by the Federal Financial Crimes Bureau in connection with an alleged money laundering case.
AAP termed the case against Kejriwal, filed just before the national elections, a “political conspiracy” and accused the ED of behaving like a “political wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party”.
On March 27, when asked about Mr. Kejriwal's arrest and the freezing of INC's accounts, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the U.S. government does not comment on “private diplomatic discussions,” but added, “We believe that “We encourage transparent and timely legal proceedings.” Each of these issues. ”
India said the US government's comments on the issue were “unwarranted” and “unacceptable” and said it was proud of its independent and strong democratic system.
Prime Minister Modi and the Hindu-Muslim divide
Mr. Modi's opponents say the hugely popular prime minister has spent his 10 years in office trying to bridge the growing sectarian divide between India's majority Hindus and 230 million Muslims. He claims that he has done almost nothing.
Rather, critics say he indirectly supported sectarianism in order to shore up support among his Hindu nationalist base.
Some are concerned about what a third term for Prime Minister Modi will mean for India's Muslims, with the Bharatiya Janata Party threatening to transform a secular, pluralistic state into a majority-ruled Hindu state. I believe he is determined to change.
was there Rising sectarian violence in IndiaMuslims and Christians have often been targeted over the past decade under the leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Prime Minister Modi's party has consistently denied accusations of fomenting sectarianism and says it works for the welfare of all Indians without discrimination.
