Modi Is Making India’s Polls All About Himself
The ruling party’s manifesto offers 24 ‘guarantees’ — they are all in the name of the prime minister.
Everything to everyone.
Photographer: Abhishek Chinnappa/Getty Image
India’s general election will get underway this week as a big summer sale. The two main political rivals will each try to attract nearly 1 billion eligible voters by claiming that their version of the future will cause less buyers’ remorse five years from now.
Yet, the promotional packages are very different. The opposition Congress Party is offering a bouquet of assurances — on urban jobs and apprenticeships, basic incomes for the poor, minimum wages, floor prices for crops, religious freedom, and protection of constitutional rights. By contrast, the ruling, right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party has one product: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 24 key promises in the BJP manifesto are all “Modi ki guarantee,” Hindi for Modi’s guarantees.