Issue #20 - India Denies Modi a Majority, Ceasefire Confusion, & Hunter Biden’s Case is a Dilemma for Republicans
June 7, 2024
This week, India’s election results are a huge blow to the “undefeatable” Modi, Biden and Netanyahu clash publicly on a potential ceasefire deal, and Hunter Biden’s gun case is an inadvertent win for gun control. As well, a roundup of some of the interesting, uplifting, and good news from the week.
Last week, former President Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts in the hush money coverup trial in New York. I wrote about what impact a guilty verdict could have here.
India Denies Modi a Majority
SLIVERS OF HOPE
Modi and the BJP fell short of securing a majority, forcing them to create a coalition government, and loosening Modi’s grip on power.
The BJP fell massively short of their goal of 400 seats, a super majority, with 240 seats. This is down 63 seats from the last election and short 32 seats of the 272 needed for a majority.
Several prominent BJP candidates lost their seats, and the party saw crucial drops in important states.
The opposition parties made significant gains this election, doubling their seats.
Loyalty to the BJP is being challenged in the face of high unemployment, showing that Indian voters are prioritizing practical concerns over nativist rhetoric.
CATALYST
Change often happens in inches, not in miles, and the recent election in India proving that they are inching towards that change.
Narendra Modi has been Prime Minister of India for nearly a decade and was considered undefeatable. He has even likened himself to a god and said he would rule India for another 25 years (Modi is 73).
He set his goals high for this election, campaigning on winning 400 of the 543 seats for the BJP, which would be an increase of just under 100 seats from 2019.
Modi ran a campaign based on his tried and true anti-Muslim rhetoric and pro-Hindu nationalist agenda, even though campaigning on sectarian lines is prohibited under Indian law.
Indian voters seemed to be unconvinced. There have been more pressing, practical issues, such as rising unemployment, growing inequality, inflation, and a controversial army recruitment plan.
So, even though Modi remains Prime Minister, he will have to rule with a coalition government, which means his flagrant disregard for norms, rules, and laws will be stymied by concerns about maintaining his political allegiances.
India’s election does also bring up broader questions - does divisive rhetoric only go so far? Could the era of promoting nativist concerns when the practicalities of life are bearing down on the electorate and refusing to acknowledge them is coming to an end? Could Indian voters be seeing past the rhetorical scapegoats and finally placing the blame where it belongs, on elected officials who refuse to work towards policies that benefit the populace?
Maybe. Maybe the populist era is starting to see its first signs of waning. Just maybe.
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