'Almost an inevitability' Modi and BJP look set to win Indian election

India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, has cut a confident figure in recent weeks. As his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) swept three major state elections in December, Modi did not hold back from predicting that "this hat-trick has guaranteed the 2024 victory".

- Hannah Ellis-Petersen

It was a sign that with less than six months to go before the general election, in which Modi will be seeking a third term in power, campaign season had begun. In India's political landscape, the consensus among political analysts is that a win for Modi and the BJP is the most plausible outcome.

The prime minister's popularity as a political strongman, alongside the BJP's Hindu nationalist agenda, continues to appeal to the Hindu majority of the country, particularly in the populous Hindi belt of the north, resulting in the widespread persecution of Muslims.

At state and national level, the apparatus of the country has been skewed heavily towards the BJP since Modi was elected in 2014. He has been accused of overseeing an unprecedented consolidation of power, muzzling critical media, eroding the independence of the judiciary and all forms of parliamentary scrutiny and accountability, and using government agencies to pursue and jail political opponents.