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☆ Analysis: Voters reject Modi’s vision for one-party state in India’s 2024 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

According to most polls, India’s election was a foregone conclusion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing, Hindu-nationalist alliance was expected to secure a supermajority – and with it the power to enact radical change unopposed. To Modi’s critics and opponents, India was on the fast track to becoming a de-facto one-party state. Going into this election, Modi had set a goal of winning 400 seats in the lower house of parliament, or Lok Sabha. The BJP’s inability to secure an outright majority “pricks the bubble of Modi’s authority,” wrote political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta Tuesday night.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party wouldn’t, God, ”, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, “, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ritesh Shukla, Arathi Jerath, India’s, Arvind Kejriwal, Critics, –, ” Mehta, Sanjay Singh, “ Modi, Neelanjan Sircar Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, …, BJP, Aadmi Party, ‘, National Democratic Alliance, Center for Policy Research Locations: India, Lok Sabha, –, Ayodhya, New Delhi, Delhi

☆ Who will win India’s general election and become the new prime minister? Votes get counted in world’s largest election
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Some 642 million people cast their vote in the world’s largest election, as swathes of the country was blanketed in searing heat, making people sick and killing dozens. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shows his ink-marked finger after casting his vote outside a polling station in Ahmedabad, India, on May 7, 2024. The leader of the party that wins a majority will become prime minister and form a ruling government. His BJP centered its manifesto on job creation and anti-poverty programs, with a focus on women, the poor and farmers. He’s promised to turn India into a developed nation by 2047 and transform the country into a global manufacturing hub.

Persons: Narendra Modi, India’s, Adnan Abidi, Modi, He’s, God, –, Rahul Gandhi, Gandhi, Raj K Raj, Arvind Kejriwal, ” Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, India's, Reuters, National Democratic Alliance, Congress, Hindustan Times, Aadmi Party Locations: India, –, Lok Sabha, Asia, United States, China, Russia, Ahmedabad, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Lok, New Delhi, Delhi

☆ Modi's strongman rule raises questions about India's 'democratic decline' as he seeks a third term
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, center, during a campaign rally in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Photographer: Prakash Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesA decade into power, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to secure a rare third term, with the general elections now underway. Opposition 'witch hunt'Ahead of the elections, India's main opposition — the National Congress party — accused the Modi government of freezing its bank accounts. "This is a criminal action on the Congress party done by the prime minister and the home minister," said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a fiery attack. "During Manmohan Singh's time, India was also growing very fast," he added, referring to the economic reforms under the former prime minister in the 1990s.

Persons: Narendra Modi, India's, Modi, Prakash Singh, Asim Ali, Ali, Milan, Modi's, —, Rahul Gandhi, Chietigj Bajpaee, Arvind Kejriwal, consecrating, Ronojoy Sen, Neelanjan Sircar, Manmohan Singh's, Sircar Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty Images Bloomberg, Getty, India's, East, CNBC, Dem, Freedom House, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Newsweek, Bharatiya Janata Party, National Congress, South Asia, Chatham House, Aam Aadmi Party, Modi's BJP, BJP, Institute of South Asian Studies, Centre for Policy Research Locations: Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, East Asia, New Delhi, Sweden, U.S, Milan Vaishnav, South Asia, Gujarat, Ali, Delhi, Lok, Ayodhya, Ayodhya —, BJP

☆ In India’s 2024 election, BJP’s main opposition appears increasingly weak in face of Modi juggernaut
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +21 min

Supporters of India's opposition party, Indian National Congress, during an election rally in Puducherry on April 15, 2024 R. Satish Babu/AFP/Getty ImagesDemocracy under threat? Dipam Bhachech/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Modi worked his way through the ranks of the BJP, establishing himself as a respected politician. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images Modi hugs French President Emmanuel Macron after a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, on June 3, 2017. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023. Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images Modi offers a toast during a State Dinner with President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: ”, Narendra Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Indira Gandhi, Gandhi, ” Hazari Lal Rajput, Satish Babu, Modi, Modi’s, Matthew Abbott, Hiraben, Damodardas, Dipam Bhachech, Lal Krishna Advani, Subhas Chandra Bose, Kalpit Bhachech, Kalpit, Negi Yasbant, Amit Dave, Ajit Solanki, Kevin Frayer, Saurabh Das, AP Modi, Manish Swarup, Lucas Jackson, Barack Obama, Adrien Helou, Reuters Modi, Adnan Abidi, Stringer, Mark Zuckerberg, David Paul Morris, Marco Longari, Angela Merkel, Tobias Schwarz, Emmanuel Macron, Charles Platiau, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, India's, Jair Bolsonaro, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Amit Shah, Money Sharma, Boris Johnson, Phil Noble, Anthony Albanese, Brent Lewin, Pedro Ugarte, Joe Biden, Doug Mills, Paul Mashatile, Jacoline, Imtiyaz Khan, Amr Alfiky, Arati Jerath, “, it’s, Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira, India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru, gunning, ” Modi, shouldn’t, Mohammad Irfan, —, Arvind Kejriwal, Altaf Qadri, Kejriwal, Atishi, you’re, Jerath, Gandhi ‘, ’ Modi, Christophe Jaffrelot, CNN Modi, Rasheed Kidwai, Rahul, Diptendu Dutta, Mamata Banerjee, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, ” Kidwai, ” Jerath Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Getty, Democracy, Modi’s BJP, Pew, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, AP, India's, Madison, Garden, Reuters, Washington , D.C, French National Space Agency, of Yoga, Meta, Facebook, Bloomberg, European, Saudi Arabia's Crown, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Kyodo, British, Summit, Qudos Bank, White, Anadolu Agency, Anadolu, United, United Arab Emirates, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Indian, Aadmi Party, Delhi, AAP, Aam Aadmi Party, All, Trinamool, West, All India, Congress, “, “ Democracy Locations: India, Uttar Pradesh, Ramlila, Puducherry, Modi’s, Sydney, Australia, Gujarat, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, New Delhi, United States, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, INDIA, Delhi, India’s, Lok Sabha, Atishi, ”, Manipur, Siliguri, West Bengal, Tamil

☆ India general election 2024: What to know about the world’s biggest vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Under Modi, India has become the world’s fastest growing major economy, pushing the country of 1.4 billion people to near-superpower status. Here’s what you need to know about the largest election in human history:How does India vote? Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024. Congress senior party leader Rahul Gandhi during the release of the party manifesto on April 5, 2024 in New Delhi. The ruling BJP’s symbol is a lotus, while the Congress party is a raised, open-palmed hand.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Noah Seelam, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Congress ’ Mamata Banerjee, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, Himanshu Sharma, Modi’s, Kejriwal, Sanjeev Verma, Nasir Kachroo, Biju Boro Organizations: CNN, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, European Union, Getty, Indian National Congress, Congress, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Aam Aadmi Party, Delhi, West, All India, Modi, Hindustan Times, Minorities, Analysts, Bahujan Samaj Party, Farmers, for Media Studies Locations: India, United States, Russia, Lok, Hyderabad, AFP, INDIA, West Bengal, Tamil, Pushkar, Delhi, New Delhi, Ayodhya, Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh, China, Lohore Sapori, Assam

New Delhi CNN —India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned a US State Department official after the department called for a fair legal process for opposition leader and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal following his arrest last week. “We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India,” the Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday summoned Gloria Berbena, the State Department Minister-Counselor for Public Diplomacy, according to a diplomatic officer with knowledge of the matter. At a briefing later on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to discuss “private diplomatic conversations” when asked about Berbena’s summoning, but stood by the department’s previous comments. India’s main opposition, the Indian National Congress, has also accused the BJP of using the tax department to “cripple” their finances.

Persons: Arvind Kejriwal, Gloria Berbena, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, Kejriwal, Modi, Narendra Modi’s, Kejriwal’s, ” Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN — India’s, External Affairs, US State Department, Affairs, State Department, Public Diplomacy, State, Aam Aadmi Party, Indian National Congress, Human Rights, Amnesty, India Locations: New Delhi, Delhi, India

☆ New Delhi air pollution: Why can’t India’s capital clean up its toxic air like Beijing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“It’s an invisible killer,” said Jyoti Pande Lavakare, author of “Breathing Here is Injurious to Your Health: The Human Cost of Air Pollution” and co-founder of clean air non-profit Care for Air. China’s capital has since cleaned up its act, which begs the question: if Beijing can clean up its toxic air, why can’t India too? A key moment in China’s fightback came in 2013, when the government started to invest billions of dollars into a national air pollution action plan. Hundreds of thousands of lives savedChina’s raft of clean air policies have been so successful, they have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, research has shown. They say Kejriwal’s team has done little in terms of implementing effective policies to clean New Delhi’s air.

Persons: “, ”, Jyoti Pande Lavakare, Arun Sankar, China’s, –, Wang Zhao, China’s fightback, Frank Christian Hammes, IQAir, Sunil Dahiya, Dahiya, Stringer, Arvind Kejriwal, Kejriwal, Virendra Sachdeva, Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sudhanshu Dhulia, Raj K Raj, “ You’re Organizations: CNN, Health, Pollution, Air, Getty, United, Global, Energy, Institute, University of Chicago, Centre for Research, Clean, Bloomberg, Beijing, Care for Air, Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, AAP, Ministry of Environment, Hindustan Times Locations: Delhi, Beijing, India, ”, AFP, United States, China, Swiss, New Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, New, Indonesia, Malaysia, Care, CREA, IQAir

☆ India's toxic smog season shuts down schools, revives 'odd-even' vehicle limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"The situation arising out of air pollution in the City is extremely worrying," Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said in a Friday post on X, formerly Twitter. Good or satisfactory air quality corresponds to an index somewhere between zero and 100. The air quality index in Delhi on Monday was roughly 450, according to India's Central Pollution Control Board. Prolonged exposure to an air quality index above 300 can lead to respiratory illness and long-term health problems. According to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, these crop-burning fires cause pollution to peak in Delhi from Nov. 1 to Nov. 15.

Persons: Vinai Kumar Saxena, Saxena, Gopal Rai Organizations: Pollution Control, Control, Aam Aadmi Party Locations: New Delhi, India, Delhi, City

New Delhi CNN —When Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit on Saturday, he sat behind a country name placard that piqued the interest of many. “PM Modi uses placard Bharat for G20 inaugural address,” ran a headline in the Times of India, one of the country’s largest English-language outlets, moments after. Both India and Bharat are used officially in the nation of 1.4 billion people, which has more than 20 official languages. Bharat is also the Hindi word for India and is used interchangeably – both feature on Indian passports for example. But the use of “Bharat” on the G20 invites has raised eyebrows among opposition leaders.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Bharat, Modi, ”, “ Bharat, “, –, ’, ” Harnath Singh Yadav, Virender Sehwag, Bharat ”, ” Shashi Tharoor, Raghav Chadha, Jaishankar Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, “, Bharat, Group, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Cricket, Developmental, INDIA, Aam Aadmi Locations: New Delhi, ’, India, Times of India, Britain, British, Indian, INDIA

Both India and Bharat are used officially in the nation of 1.4 billion people, which has more than 20 official languages. “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States,” the country’s constitution states. Bharat is also the Hindi word for India and is used interchangeably – both feature on Indian passports for example. “The word ‘India’ is an abuse given to us by the British, whereas the word ‘Bharat’ is a symbol of our culture,” Harnath Singh Yadav, a BJP politician, told Indian broadcaster ANI. Some opposition politicians said the government’s use of Bharat was a response to the formation of the INDIA alliance.

Persons: Bharat, ”, Droupadi Murmu, Narendra Modi, Modi, –, ’, ” Harnath Singh Yadav, Virender Sehwag, Bharat ’, Bharat ”, ” Shashi Tharoor, “, it’s, Raghav Chadha, Jaishankar Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Indian, of States, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Cricket, Developmental, INDIA, Aam Aadmi Locations: New Delhi, India, Delhi, Britain, British, Kingsway, Nicobar, INDIA

New Delhi CNN —From butter chicken to paneer makhani, Indian cuisine is unthinkable without the ubiquitous tomato. Asha, a homemaker in the capital who asked to be referred to only by her first name, told CNN the increase has hit her seven-member family hard. Some of McDonald’s (MCD) restaurants across the country have temporarily stopped serving tomatoes on their burgers, citing quality issues and shortages of supply. Of the tomatoes that were harvested, over 90% were infected by seed-born viruses, Gadve told CNN, which further exacerbated the supply shortage. Devinder Sharma, an India-based agriculture policy expert, told CNN the current shortage was also caused in part by farmers throwing away their tomatoes because no one was buying them.

Persons: Asha, “, Raghav Chadha, ” Chadha, Jocelyn Boiteau, Boiteau, Sriram Gadve, ”, Gadve, Devinder Sharma, Sharma, ” Gadve Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Department of Consumer Affairs, CNN, Connaught, Restaurants, Aam Aadmi Party, Twitter, Tata, Cornell Institute for Agriculture, Nutrition, University of Cambridge, Vegetable Growers Association Locations: New Delhi, India, Asia, heatwaves, India’s

☆ India's opposition parties unite for 2024 national elections, BJP says not worried
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Their campaign got a shot in the arm in May when Congress trounced BJP in a key state election, exceeding expectations and gaining fresh momentum ahead of more state elections due this year and national elections in April-May 2024. Gandhi said the fight against BJP was an "ideological battle" and opposition parties were united in it. India's opposition parties have formed alliances to challenge governments - led by both Congress and BJP - in the past and win elections but have a mixed record of sticking together and running governments smoothly. BJP leaders said they were not worried as there was little hope for such alliances. "I want to tell leaders of the opposition, join as many hands as you want but opposition unity is not possible.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Rahul Gandhi, Modi, Nitish Kumar, Kumar, Gandhi, Amit Shah Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Congress, Aadmi Party, AAP, Modi, ji’s, YP Rajesh, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Patna, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi

The opposition has come together after this month's conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party on a charge of defamation and his disqualification from parliament. Opposition politicians say Gandhi's shock disqualification, and possible jail time, is the latest evidence of the Modi government's strongarm tactics and follows investigations and legal troubles faced in recent months by other opposition parties. A day after Gandhi's conviction, 14 political parties jointly petitioned the Supreme Court, saying opposition groups were being selectively targeted by federal investigative agencies. "The Modi government's fascist steps have given a new chance for opposition parties to be united," Trinamool MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, told Reuters. "Anti Modi-ism or anti BJP-ism cannot be the glue that brings together disparate opposition parties with different aspirations and ambitions and positions," said Nalin Kohli, the BJP's national spokesperson.

☆ India, world’s largest democracy, leads global list of internet shutdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Of 187 internet shutdowns recorded worldwide, 84 took place in India, according to the report published Tuesday by Access Now, a New York based advocacy group that tracks internet freedom. India has the world’s second largest digital population, following China, with more than 800 million internet users. Pradeep Guar/Mint/Getty ImagesIn recent years, the government has repeatedly justified blocking internet access on the grounds of preserving public safety amid widespread fears of mob violence. Rest of the worldLast year saw more internet shutdowns worldwide than ever before, Access Now said, prompting the group to raise fears of “digital authoritarianism” as governments continue the trend. Apart from India, other countries that saw internet shutdowns last year include Ukraine, Iran and Myanmar.

☆ Top Delhi minister arrested in India liquor probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Feb 27 (Reuters) - India's federal investigating agency arrested a top local minister in the capital territory of New Delhi late on Sunday in connection with alleged irregularities in a liquor policy, the most high-profile arrest in the case so far. Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister in the Delhi government was arrested by India's federal crime agency, the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) late Sunday night and will be produced in a local court on Monday. Sisodia was arrested in an ongoing investigation in "a case related to alleged irregularities in framing & implementation of the excise policy", the CBI said in a release. His arrest is dirty politics," Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's chief minister and head of the Aam Aadmi Party said in a tweet hours after Sisodia's arrest. India's financial crime-fighting agency, the Enforcement Directorate is separately investigating French liquor major Pernod Ricard for allegedly violating the same liquor policy.

☆ Gujarat elections: BJP wins in sweeping victory for Modi
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Swati Gupta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The BJP took 156 of 182 total seats in the Gujarat state assembly following voting earlier this month, marking the party’s best-ever performance in the state, a longtime BJP stronghold. In a comment posted to Twitter Thursday evening, the Prime Minister thanked the people of Gujarat and said he was “overcome with a lot of emotions” to see the results. The BJP won 25 seats and three went to independent candidates, with results from the state of around 6 million also announced Thursday. He campaigned extensively in the lead-up to the election in Gujarat, where the BJP has ruled for more than a quarter century. Modi led the state as chief minister for more than a decade before coming to power as Prime Minister in 2014.

☆ Modi's party set for landslide election win in India's Gujarat state
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to his supporters as he arrives to cast his vote during the second and last phase of Gujarat state assembly elections in Ahmedabad, India, December 5, 2022. The western industrial state is a bastion of the BJP, which has not lost state assembly elections there since 1995. Modi was Gujarat's chief minister for 13 years before becoming prime minister in 2014. The party was also set to surpass its best results in Gujarat when it won 127 seats in 2002. He is eyeing a third term as prime minister in 2024 and campaigned extensively across the state in the run up to the Gujarat vote.

☆ Modi's home state Gujarat votes, seen as easy mid-term test for India's leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Opinion polls conducted in the lead-up to the Gujarat polls projected the BJP to comfortably retain power in the state. In the last state election five years ago, the BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member assembly while Congress got 77. The BJP is expected to win between 131 to 139 seats this time, ABP-CVoter projected in November. Congress could win 31 to 39 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party could bag up to 15. According to India TV-Matrize opinion poll, also conducted in November, the BJP may win up to 119 seats.

☆ India's Aam Aadmi party set for big gains in Modi's home state
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Sumit Khanna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SURAT, India, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), formed only a decade ago and having claimed power in Delhi and Punjab state, is set to be the biggest gainer in assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat next month. AAP boss and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is known to have national ambitions. "Ninety-nine per cent I am going to vote for Aam Adam Party," said diamond worker Bharat Patel. "It looks like the surge of the Aam Aadmi Party is not going down," Yashwant Deshmukh, founder of polling agency CVoter, told Reuters. With pictures of Modi, the ruling party is underlining the advantages of having a BJP government at the state and nationally.

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