🇮🇳 Indian General Election 2024 (2 Viewers)

[Old School]

General elections are being held in India from 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha. The votes will be counted, and the results will be declared on 4 June 2024.
Post all the latest news, articles, and updates here.

 

[Old School]

As India votes, misinformation surges on social media: 'The whole country is paying the price'

Researchers who track misinformation and hate speech in India say tech companies' poor enforcement of their own policies has created perfect conditions for harmful content that could distort public opinion, spur violence and leave millions of voters wondering what to believe.

"A non-discerning user or regular user has no idea whether it's someone, an individual sharing his or her thoughts on the other end, or is it a bot?" Rekha Singh, a 49-year-old voter, told The Associated Press. Singh said she worries that social media algorithms distort voters' view of reality. "So you are biased without even realizing it," she said.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: Misinformation surges on social media as voters head to vote | AP News

 

[Old School]

Low turnout, apathy in India election a worry for Modi's campaign

A lower turnout so far in India's long general election has rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign managers, raising into question whether his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies can achieve the landslide victory predicted by opinion polls just one month ago.
The lack of momentum has been partly blamed on apathy among party workers believing victory is assured and seems to have prompted Modi to change tack in his campaign speeches to try to fire up the Hindu majority, the party's support base, and get them out to voting stations, political analysts said.

The last major opinion poll had predicted that the BJP and its allies could win three-fourths of parliament's 543 seats at stake on the back of Modi's popularity, strong economic growth, handouts and the inauguration of a Hindu temple on a contested site in the Hindu majority country.
At the last election in 2019, the BJP won 303 seats and its allies won around 50 seats. Its slogan before this year's election began was "Ab ki baar, 400 paar" or "This time, above 400".

More than half a dozen BJP leaders and political analysts that Reuters spoke to said a lack of momentum in the two initial phases of the seven-phase election have dampened hopes of a huge majority for the party, although they said it was still likely to retain power in the world's most populous nation.
What could be affected is the BJP's aim to get a two-thirds majority in the chamber, or 362 seats, which would let the party usher in far-reaching constitutional changes.

Low turnout, apathy in India election a worry for Modi's campaign | Reuters

 

[Old School]

Lok Sabha Election 2024 Live Updates: Rahul Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi

After weeks of suspense, the Congress on Friday finally declared its candidates for the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies of Uttar Pradesh.

Rahul Gandhi has been fielded from Rae Bareli while Kishori Lal Sharma will be contesting from Amethi.

The Congress, which is contesting 17 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the seat-sharing deal with the Samajwadi Party (SP), had announced candidates for all the seats barring Amethi and Rae Bareli.
Lok Sabha Election 2024 Live Updates: Rahul Gandhi to contest from Rae Bareli, Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi - The Times of India (indiatimes.com)

 

[Old School]

A resurgent Hindu nationalism sets the stage for the upcoming elections, driving communal violence

The values of secularism and religious tolerance enshrined in India's Constitution have long struggled against the realities of its demographics, where Hindus, comprising around 80% of the population, form the overwhelming majority.8 The gradual rise of the BJP, which views India foremost as a Hindu rashtra (nation), further increased the strain on these principles while also emboldening more radical Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) groups within the country.9 Among these is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing Hindu paramilitary group that organized the Babri Masjid's demolition.10 The BJP has strong ideological and organizational ties with the RSS; Modi himself began his political career as a religious volunteer with the group.11 The mainstreaming of Hindutva politics under the BJP has increased tensions between Hindus and religious minorities, sparking a resurgence in communal violence. India's Muslim community, which is among the world's largest Muslim populations, has borne the brunt of this violence. With the BJP galvanizing its supporters around the cause of Hindu nationalism ahead of the 2024 elections, the second part of ACLED's India Elections Special Issue focuses on increased religious polarization as a driver for political violence across India.
India Votes 2024: A resurgent Hindu nationalism sets the stage for the upcoming elections, driving communal violence (acleddata.com)

 

[Old School]

With India's election in full swing, Narendra Modi is getting desperate – and dangerous

The Indian PM may still be in a strong position; but incendiary, anti-Muslim rhetoric shows that all may not be going to plan.
Driven primarily by cynical electoral calculations, Modi's speech aimed to scare voters into thinking that a Congress government would be after their wealth. Modi added that he would protect India's "mothers and sisters" whose wealth was in danger, singling out the coveted mangalsutra (sacred necklace) that married women wear to indicate their marital status. Modi's implication was that Congress would take it away and redistribute it to "infiltrators" and those who have more children – veiled references to Muslims. (A BJP spokesperson said "infiltrators" referred to foreigners, not Indian Muslims.)

This is not dog-whistle politics, its meaning is audible to all Indians. It feeds into Hindu fears and is intended to arouse Hindus: it was dangerous and blatantly divisive. After thousands of voters complained that Modi's speech violated the code of conduct for elections, the Election Commission of India sought a response from JP Nadda, president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP).

The vehemence of Modi's speech suggests that after 10 years in power, his government is running out of tricks and wants to ensure that the BJP's core voters – angry, fundamentalist Hindus – won't desert him. Modi has "delivered" many of the contentious issues that were on Hindu nationalists' wish list: the supreme court has upheld the government's decision to revoke Kashmir's special status, his government has outlawed the Muslim practice of "instant divorce", and the Rama temple has been built in Ayodhya after the supreme court ruled in Hindus' favour.
With India's election in full swing, Narendra Modi is getting desperate – and dangerous | Salil Tripathi | The Guardian

 

[Old School]

India poll watchdog's inaction lets PM Modi commit 'brazen' violations, opposition says

ndia's opposition said the nation's election commission was allowing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to continue "unchecked and brazen" violations by not taking action on opposition complaints of religious hate speech and misrepresentation.

More than halfway through India's six-week national elections, the world's biggest, the Congress party-led opposition complained in a letter to the Election Commission of India on Friday that "no meaningful action has been taken to penalize those who are guilty in the ruling regime".

This was a "complete abdication" of the commission's duty, it said. "As a result there has been an unchecked and brazen continuation of these violations, which are now committed with impunity and utter disregard." The watchdog is responsible for ensuring political parties do not violate election rules against promoting division along religious, caste or linguistic lines in the multiethnic South Asian nation.

In his campaign speeches, Modi, seeking a rare third consecutive term, has targeted the Congress, claiming it wants to help minority Muslims at the expense of other socially disadvantaged groups.

Representatives for the commission and Modi's Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not respond to requests seeking comment.

Election results in the world's most populous nation are to be announced on June 4.

 

[Saif]

Opposition slams Modi for anti-Muslim remarks

India’s main opposition party yesterday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for anti-Muslim comments in election campaign speeches that have heightened concerns over sectarian tensions in the world’s biggest democracy.

www.thedailystar.net

Opposition slams Modi for anti-Muslim remarks

India's main opposition party yesterday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi for anti-Muslim comments in election campaign speeches that have heightened concerns over sectarian tensions in the world's biggest democracy.

P Chidambaram, a former Indian finance minister and senior lawmaker for Congress, said that Modi was playing "his usual game of dividing Hindus and Muslims".

"The world is watching and analysing the Indian prime minister's statements, and they do not bring glory to India," he added.

Modi remains popular across much of India and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win this general election when it concludes in early June.​