©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People walk past the Election Commission of India office building in New Delhi, India, March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi//File Photo
By YP Rajesh
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will begin voting in phases from April 19 to elect a new parliament, the country’s election authority said on Saturday, in the world’s largest election in which nearly a billion people have the right to vote.
The election pits two-term Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his regional allies against a fractious alliance of two dozen opposition parties, with polls suggesting a comfortable victory for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP ) of Modi.
A victory would make Modi, 73, the second prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru, the hero of India’s independence and its first prime minister, to win a third consecutive term.
Modi and his party had been campaigning for months before the voting dates were announced. The prime minister flies around the country almost every day, inaugurating new projects, making announcements, attending religious events and speaking at public and private meetings.
In his speeches, Modi showcased the economic growth during his two terms in office which led to India currently becoming the fastest growing economy in the world, investments in infrastructure and welfare programs for the poor.
His party’s program for Hindu revival, including the inauguration of a large temple dedicated to Lord Ram on the site of a destroyed mosque, was also a major topic of discussion.
Modi has set a target of 370 seats for the BJP and more than 400 for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) he leads in the 543-member lower house of parliament, up from the 303 won by the BJP and more than the 350 won by the NDA in 2018. 2019.
The 2019 performance was the best ever for the party founded in 1980.
Modi will be challenged by an alliance of about two dozen opposition parties led by the main opposition Congress party called INDIA or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.
The alliance formed last year, however, has struggled to remain united and amicably share seats to fight against the BJP one by one.
The Congress, which has ruled India for 54 of its 76 years since independence from Britain, sank to record lows after Modi came to power and is struggling to revive support.
The party highlights unemployment, rural distress, what it calls crony capitalism, the need for more affirmative action for so-called backward castes and the need to end religious polarization and hatred to defeat Modi.
Nearly 970 million people are registered to vote at over a million polling stations in the mammoth electoral exercise with 2,400 political parties likely to contest.