World’s biggest election, India’s election in its final stage, Modi accused of pitting Hindus against Muslims | World

No economic growth, no international projection, no high popularity. Polarization between Hindus and Muslims has been a major ploy used by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to guarantee his re-election in the country’s elections, which enter their final round this week.

The final group of 970 million voters called to vote in the country’s election — more than 10% of the world’s population –Voting takes place this Saturday (1st). Voting lasts seven weeks, with each region voting on different dates. Counting begins next Tuesday (4); the winner will be announced by Thursday (5).

The voting process has begun from its commencement on 19th April it is alleged that Modi is trying to pit the Hindu population, which is the majority, against the Muslim minority,

According to analysts in the country, the highly popular prime minister intends to encourage polarisation so that Hindus, the religion of about 85% of the population and the base of his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (PBJ), show up at polling stations.

A strategy that may have been hastily redesigned because of another factor marking the first of the seven steps: a Low voter turnout, especially among the Hindu population,

“Modi has more layers than just a religious issue, but religion is a big mobilisation point [de sua campanha]. He already understands that Muslims do not matter to his re-election.” G1 Tanguy Baghdhadi, professor of international politics.

The allegations began after the modI am starting your campaign in one of the holiest cities for Hinduism,

However, During the first phase of the elections, he focused his speech on religious issues. For example, the Prime Minister accused the main opposition party, the Congress Party, of being pro-Muslim.

“They have used the narrative that Muslims are breeding rapidly to become a majority in the country,” Baghdadi said, adding that he believed the prime minister would adopt this narrative in the new government if he was re-elected.

“He knows that this way, he will remain a favourite among Hindus and he won’t always have to rely on economic results to do so.”

Two weeks ago, when asked about a possible strategy, Modi declined to comment:

“The day I start talking about Hindus and Muslims (in politics), that will be the day I lose my ability to lead a public life,” the prime minister said, speaking in Hindi. “I will not do that. That is my decision.”

But last week when the elections came Kashmir, another centre of tensionModi reused the speech.

In 2019, the Indian prime minister withdrew the semi-autonomous status of Srinagar, the region’s largest city, which is shared with Pakistan and China, and was once the site of one of the main conflicts of the 20th century over the disputed area.

Hey The national government began to exercise direct control over the cityWith the argument that the measure would bring economic development and peace to Kashmir. However, the region has a Muslim majority and anti-India sentiment is strong.

If he succeeds in getting re-elected, as the major election polls indicate, Modi will go for the third consecutive timeAchieved a feat that only Jawaharlal Nehru, a Prime Minister, a founder of modern India and one of the country’s independence leaders, achieved.

Challenges of the world’s largest election

To ensure that all voters are able to vote, Since April, nearly 15 million election workers and security personnel have been traveling across the country’s deserts and mountains – sometimes by boat, on foot and even on horseback – to try to reach every voter.

The challenges are many. The last elections in 2019 showed some of them:

• Election officials had to travel to a village hidden in the Himalayas to set up a booth at an altitude of 4,650 metres, becoming the world’s highest polling station.
• A team of election officials had to travel more than 300 miles in four days to ensure that a single voter in a village in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China could cast his vote.
• For this year’s elections, India’s Election Commission is already preparing to set up polling stations in remote locations, including one inside a nature reserve in the southern state of Kerala and another in a shipping container in the western state of Gujarat.