India Fears Modi Will Become 'More Aggressive' Despite Loss Of Majority
The Guardian|June 18, 2024
As Narendra Modi traversed India during recent months, campaigning for a third term in power, he repeated the same refrain.
Hannah Ellis-Petersen
India Fears Modi Will Become 'More Aggressive' Despite Loss Of Majority

The past decade "was just a trailer", the prime minister told crowds, adding: "There is plenty more to come."

The expectation, among his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and most analysts and pollsters, was that India's election would easily return him to power with the same supermajority - if not larger - that he has enjoyed over the past decade.

Yet instead, this month's results dealt a sobering blow. While the BJP won the most seats, the party lost its parliamentary majority for the first time under Modi. In order to return to power, he is suddenly beholden to coalition partners - an assortment of regional parties with widely differing ideologies.

All eyes are now on how Modi will govern, after decades of political leadership at the state and then national level, during which he has never had to engage in consensus politics.

Coalition restraints

Since the shock election result, Modi's public messages have emphasised the theme of consensus, and that the prime minister's office should be "the people's, not Modi's". Yet this narrative has been belied by his cabinet appointments, where the BJP successfully refused to relinquish any powerful seats. All remain occupied by the prime minister's closest allies, including Amit Shah as home minister, while crucial coalition parties got little more than heavy industries and food processing.

There is still not a single Muslim in the cabinet and - for the first time in India's history - no Muslims appointed as ministers anywhere in the country.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 18, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 18, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE GUARDIANAlle anzeigen
The Guardian

New year refresh A month-by-month guide to sorting out your finances

Rupert Jones and Hilary Osborne offer a checklist of the vital tasks you need to tackle throughout the year, from filing your tax return to making the most of your holiday cash

time-read
9 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
Lost in music How Britain's clubs are disappearing fast - and why they are worth rescuing
The Guardian

Lost in music How Britain's clubs are disappearing fast - and why they are worth rescuing

When the patrons of Watford's Przym nightclub celebrated New Year's Eve a year ago, they were marking the end of an era - or rather, seven eras.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
The Guardian

Nissan shares down 15% as investors react to plan for merger

Shares in the Japanese carmaker Nissan have taken their biggest fall since August's stock market sell-off, as investors turned their attention to the company's planned tie-up with domestic rivals Honda and Mitsubishi.

time-read
1 min  |
December 28, 2024
Climbing out of trouble? Rise in share price suggests BA's turbulent days may be over
The Guardian

Climbing out of trouble? Rise in share price suggests BA's turbulent days may be over

It's been a long and turbulent time since anyone used British Airways' old slogan \"the world's favourite airline\" with a straight face.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
The Guardian

North-south divide flips as EU's periphery beats core economies

The European Central Bank is facing a tough balancing act in 2025, trying to navigate a reversal of fortunes in eurozone economies as the hardest-hit nations of the 2010s debt crisis outperform the traditional core.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
Number of retailers on the brink of collapse up by 25%
The Guardian

Number of retailers on the brink of collapse up by 25%

Footfall levels up 18% on Christmas Eve compared with last year.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
The Guardian

London-listed mining company halts operations in Mozambique

The London-listed mining company Gemfields said yesterday it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups \"took advantage\" of political unrest to attempt to invade and set fire to its site, resulting in two deaths.

time-read
1 min  |
December 28, 2024
The Guardian

Aid convoy reaches besieged area of Sudanese capital

An aid convoy has reached a besieged area of Khartoum for the first time since Sudan's civil war broke out in April 2023, bringing food and medicines in a country where half of the people are at risk of starvation.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
Mexico The mayor who turned wasteland into a utopia
The Guardian

Mexico The mayor who turned wasteland into a utopia

Mexico City's mayor, Clara Brugada, has never been afraid to court controversy and has taken some imaginative steps in her efforts to undo decades of economic and cultural inequality.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024
Crisis on cat island On Aoshima, is time finally running out for human and feline inhabitants?
The Guardian

Crisis on cat island On Aoshima, is time finally running out for human and feline inhabitants?

The reason for Aoshima's nickname is clear before we set foot on the island.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 28, 2024