The election has begun, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on the verge of another victory. The opposition has fallen behind in polls, also because the government is giving her less and less leeway.
Voting started on Friday morning in 102 electoral districts in 21 states and so-called union territories. The BJP touts its welfare programs for the poor, the rapid development of public infrastructure, and high economic growth. But even under Modi, the gap between rich and poor is as wide as ever. According to a study from January this year, one percent of Indians own more than 40 percent of the country's wealth. But the largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress, is far behind in the polls. The party wants to further expand this majority. It is tightly organized and has tailored its election campaign entirely to the Prime Minister. Instead of a party election manifesto, it published the booklet "Modi ki Guarantee," personal guarantees given by Narendra Modi. The election will now take several weeks; 2,660 parties are registered. Arvind Kejriwal founded the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or “party of the common people," with the main goal of rooting out corruption. Kejriwal is now chief minister of the capital New Delhi, and his AAP also governs the state of Punjab. The opposition criticizes the government's policies, which are increasingly tailored to the majority of Hindus, especially the 200 million Muslims. But almost eight out of ten Indians have a positive opinion of Modi, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center in Washington. The political climate is charged, says Adrian Haack, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation office in New Delhi. "BJP voters simply see the opposition as corrupt dynasties. Conversely, if you talk to opposition voters, they place the government on an autocratic spectrum,' says Haack.