As India’s colossal elections begin in April 2024, the incumbent Narendra-Modi-led government will be seeking a third term in office. The party came to power in 2014 with a sweeping majority in the election polls. The government modeled itself as the “people’s government”, claiming to distance politics from elitist agenda. The election campaigns were replete with mass appealing slogans such as “Abki Baar, Modi Sarkar (This time, it will be a Modi government)”, “Acche Din Aayenge (Good times will follow)”, or “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (Development for all)”. Supporters of the government laud its grand success with reference to infrastructure projects, global brand building, digitalization, and welfare initiatives. However, the critics characterize the tenure with the decline of democracy and press freedom, the rise of majoritarianism, and the misuse of central agencies to target the Opposition.
Despite becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, the high unemployment rate, low farm income, and little growth in worker wages remain a cause of concern for the general public. The government faced farmers’ ire with the initiation of three controversial farm bills, that aimed to deregulate the government-run wholesale market system and remove middlemen. It led to widespread protests forcing the government to repeal the laws after a year.
Despite these challenges, the Indian population’s support for the Prime Minister remains undeterred. If elected to power for the third time, Modi has “guaranteed” making India the third largest economy, ensuring social empowerment, and employment while nurturing ideological causes like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act.
"The welfare model"
Various national initiatives introduced by the Modi government since 2014 such as the Digital India Initiative, Jan Dhan Yojana for access to financial services, PM Awas Yojana for housing, PM Mudra loans, and Make in India project were welcomed by citizens across classes. Widely advertised freebies such as cooking gas, ration kits, free electricity, and direct cash transfers combined with widespread digitalization have created a brand of welfarism wherein millions of beneficiaries of these projects, or “labharthis” were considered a crucial voter base for the party’s second-term win in the national elections and the state elections of the politically critical state of Uttar Pradesh.On the ideological front
During its second term, the government executed two key missions on its ideological and political agenda namely the revocation of Article 370 and Kashmir’s autonomous status in 2019 and the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya in 2024 in the run-up to elections. Both are highly contentious and polarizing issues in India’s political history. The enactment of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) led to nationwide protests for the exclusion of certain religious groups from the list of persecuted minorities from neighboring nations, who are entitled to Indian citizenship. BJP-led central and state governments in Manipur also received widespread flak for political ineptitude in handling the ethnic violence in India’s northeastern state of Manipur in May 2023.Economic outlook
A majority of the public welcomed the schemes of invigorating the economy through increased foreign direct investments and the reformed tax policy with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017. However, overnight demonetization intended as a measure to root out corruption and cease the circulation of black money caused marked disruptions in the economy.Despite becoming the fifth largest economy in the world, the high unemployment rate, low farm income, and little growth in worker wages remain a cause of concern for the general public. The government faced farmers’ ire with the initiation of three controversial farm bills, that aimed to deregulate the government-run wholesale market system and remove middlemen. It led to widespread protests forcing the government to repeal the laws after a year.
Despite these challenges, the Indian population’s support for the Prime Minister remains undeterred. If elected to power for the third time, Modi has “guaranteed” making India the third largest economy, ensuring social empowerment, and employment while nurturing ideological causes like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act.
