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☆ Cash, drugs and booze among record election bribes seized by India
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Dhruv Tikekar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A record quantity of bribes, including cash, booze, drugs and precious metals, has been seized by Indian election authorities in the run-up to mammoth nationwide polls that begin on Friday. The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday revealed it had recovered inducements worth just over $550 million since March — the largest amount in the country’s 75-year electoral history. It marks a “sharp increase” on the more than $400 million in bribes seized by the ECI in the country’s last general election in 2019, the agency said. India’s political parties and leaders routinely preach against election corruption and inducements, but the level of monitoring and tackling of graft across such a vast nation varies widely. Anti-corruption groups had long complained that the system meant a lack of transparency in donations to political parties — allowing corporations to donate large sums without disclosure.

Persons: Narendra Modi, gratis, Modi, ” Organizations: CNN, of India, Bharatiya Janta Party, BJP, “, Indian National Congress, India, Kazakhstan, India’s, Bank of India Locations: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Lok, Maldives

☆ Narendra Modi: India’s popular but controversial leader seeking a transformative third term
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-15 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +26 min

Varanasi and New Delhi CNN —Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi once famously made a simple election promise: “good days are coming”. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses his supporters during an election campaign rally in Pushkar on April 6, 2024. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a rally in Sydney, Australia, on May 23, 2023. Kalpit Bhachech/Getty Images Narendra Modi, then BJP secretary is welcomed at Ahmedabad Railway Station by the party's followers on January 31, 1992. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg/Getty Images India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2023.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Himanshu Sharma, Getty Images Modi, –, ”, Saba Naqvi, “, Vajpayee, Naqvi, Dileep Patel, John Mees, Akash Jaiswal, “ We’ve, ” Jaiswal, isn’t, 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, Patel, India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv, Rahul Gandhi, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, “ Narendra Modi, ” Mukhopadhyay, Mukhopadhyay, ” Modi, Keshav Baliram, “ Modi, BJP Modi, Lord Ram, ” Naqvi, Critics, Christophe Jaffrelot, Karan Thapar, ” Jaffrelot, Modi’s, it’s, —, Raj, India Narendra Modi, Kenny Hoston, Ram, ” Raniva, That’s Organizations: New Delhi CNN, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, India's, Getty Images, Pew, CNN, World Health Organization, New York Times, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Modi, Hospital, Narendra, India Today, Indian National Congress, AP, 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, Cambridge, today’s Congress Party, Harvard, The Times, Muslim, Australia Locations: Varanasi, New Delhi, Gujarat, Pushkar, India, “ India, United States, Brazil, “, Sydney, Australia, Ahmedabad, Ahmadabad, Washington, Washington ,, Toulouse, France, Xian, AFP, Menlo Park , California, U.S, Pretoria, South Africa, China, Berlin, Paris, Rashtrapati, Russian, Brasilia, Glasgow, Red, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, Abu Dhabi, United Arab, Oxford, Vadnagar, Babri, Kadi, Kashmir, United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Jama

☆ 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

☆ India election: Date set for largest democratic vote in human history
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to secure another five years in power, ruling an India that has become increasingly polarized along religious lines. Under Modi’s leadership, India is poised to become a 21st-century powerhouse as its economy rapidly expands. The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, marked a significant step for an opposition struggling to regain national significance. In August, India made history by soft-landing a rover on the moon, becoming just the fourth nation to do so. The election commission said 968.8 million people have registered to vote in the 2024 polls – a 6% increase from 2019.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Indira Gandhi, Modi, Weeks Organizations: CNN, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Modi’s BJP, Organization for Economic Cooperation Locations: India, Lok, New Delhi, INDIA, Australia, United States, Ayodhya, China

☆ Data Dump Exposes the Fuzzy Lines Between Money and Politics in India
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Alex Travelli | Hari Kumar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Politics in India is an expensive business, and sometimes lucrative, too. In this year’s election, parties are expected to spend more than $14 billion — as much as in the United States. But there has been little in the way of transparency for the huge sums sloshing around. Reading between the lines of the spreadsheets full of names poses questions about the intersection of government and business in India. Construction companies, gambling impresarios, pharmaceutical bosses and many more corporate entities and individuals had forked over $1.7 billion in bonds since 2019.

Persons: Jairam Ramesh, Narendra Modi Organizations: State Bank of India, Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party of Locations: India, United States

☆ India’s main opposition party says tax authorities have frozen its funds, weeks before nationwide election
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Rhea Mogul | Vedika Sud | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New Delhi CNN —India’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, said Friday that its bank accounts had been frozen by federal tax authorities, just weeks before an expected nationwide election. He added that the Income Tax Department had issued a payment demand for 2.1 billion rupees ($25.3 million) in connection to the ongoing probe. Maken said the action taken against his party was equivalent to “freezing our democracy.”“The Congress party’s bank accounts haven’t been frozen. CNN has reached out to India’s Income Tax Department and Finance Ministry, and multiple leaders within the Congress Party for further comment. The Congress Party, a once formidable force in Indian politics, has been languishing in the polls since Modi rose to power a decade ago.

Persons: Ajay Maken, Maken, ”, “, Vivek Tankha, Tankha, Mallikarjun Kharge, Narendra Modi’s, Rahul Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Gandhi, Modi, Modi’s Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, India’s, Indian National Congress, Income, Department, Party, CNN, Finance Ministry, Congress Party, ” Allies, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Former, Indian, Modi’s BJP Locations: New Delhi, India

☆ Ayodhya Ram Mandir: A decades long Hindu nationalist dream is about to be achieved. What does this mean?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Ahead of the event, Modi has been fasting and praying in an 11-day ritual steeped in Hindu religious symbolism. But many Hindus believe the Babri Masjid was built on the ruins of a Hindu temple, allegedly destroyed by Babar, the first Mughal emperor of South Asia. The site is significant to them because they believe it’s the birthplace of Lord Ram, now honored with the construction of the new Ram Mandir. Hindu nationalist groups had for years campaigned to demolish the mosque to build a temple in its place. Muslims pray for peace ahead of verdict on a disputed religious site in Ayodhya, inside a mosque premises in Ahmedabad, India, November 8, 2019.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Lord Ram, ”, ” Modi, Babar, Douglas E, Curran, “, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Amit Dave, “ Young, Asaduddin Owaisi, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Larsen, Toubro Organizations: CNN, country’s, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, YouTube, India’s, AP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Indian National Congress Locations: Indian, Ayodhya, India, Babri, South Asia, Uttar Pradesh, Ahmedabad

The ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tightened its grip over India’s populous northern belt, results of state elections showed Sunday, expanding its dominance of a key region ahead of general elections in which Mr. Modi is seeking a third term. The party, which ruled for a majority of India’s history as a republic, has struggled to claw its way back after Mr. Modi rose to national power in 2014. The Congress party was hoping to use the state elections to build momentum for national elections next spring, but instead lost all three states in which it was pitted against Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P. The only victory for Congress came against a smaller regional party in Telangana, in India’s south, where Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalist politics has faced resistance. The results of elections in a smaller fifth state, Mizoram, are expected on Monday, but the race there is between two smaller regional parties.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s Organizations: Indian National Congress, Mr, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress Locations: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, India’s, Mizoram

☆ India's Nifty 50 hits all-time high after upbeat growth data
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) rose as much as 0.52% to 20,238.45, a new record high, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was up 0.44% at 67,286.16, as of 9:35 a.m. IST. "India's growth outlook remains positive, with various capex initiatives of the government likely to trigger consumption at the bottom of the pyramid," Pramod Gubbi, founder of Marcellus Investment Management, said. India's Nifty and Sensex posted their best month in 2023 in November, aided by the return on foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows. India's general elections are due early next year. Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Mrigank DhaniwalaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Gubbi, India's, Sensex, Madhavi Arora, Bharath Rajeswaran, Sonia Cheema Organizations: National Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, NSE, BSE, Reuters, Reserve Bank, Marcellus Investment Management, Wall, Dow Jones, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Emkay Global Financial Services, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, U.S, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Bengaluru

☆ India's Opposition Congress Dismisses Canada's Suspicions on Sikh Leader's Murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

By YP RajeshNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's main opposition Congress party backed on Wednesday the government's rejection of Canada's suspicions that New Delhi's agents had links to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, and urged a stand against threats to the country's sovereignty. Congress spokespersons backed what they called India's "fight against terrorism" and criticised Trudeau. Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh state whose creation was the goal of a bloody Sikh insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s in India's northern state of Punjab during which tens of thousands were killed. "The Indian National Congress has always believed that our country's fight against terrorism has to be uncompromising, especially when terrorism threatens India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.

Persons: YP Rajesh NEW DELHI, Justin Trudeau's, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Jairam Ramesh, Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh, FRANK, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: YP Rajesh NEW, Twitter, Indian National Congress, Research, Economic Times, Press Trust of India, Indian Express, YP Locations: India, British Columbia, Delhi, India's, Punjab, New Delhi, Australia, Britain, Canada, United States, Ottawa, Indian

☆ India's opposition Congress dismisses Canada's suspicions on Sikh leader's murder
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Congress spokespersons backed what they called India's "fight against terrorism" and criticised Trudeau. Khalistan is the name of an independent Sikh state whose creation was the goal of a bloody Sikh insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s in India's northern state of Punjab during which tens of thousands were killed. "The Indian National Congress has always believed that our country's fight against terrorism has to be uncompromising, especially when terrorism threatens India's sovereignty, unity and integrity." New Delhi, which urged Ottawa to act against anti-Indian elements, has long been unhappy over Sikh separatist activity in Canada. Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.

Persons: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nanak, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau's, Trudeau, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Jairam Ramesh, Indira Gandhi, Beant Singh, FRANK, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Indian National Congress, Research, Economic Times, Press Trust of India, Indian Express, YP, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, India, Delhi, India's, Punjab, New Delhi, Australia, Britain, United States, Ottawa, Indian

New Delhi CNN —The bulldozers and government officials arrived just before dawn, tearing down the row of shanties as its bewildered residents watched inconsolably nearby. CNN has reached out to the New Delhi and federal governments but is yet to receive a response. Rhea Mogul/CNN“I can’t explain how distraught everyone was as they bulldozed the homes,” Savita said. The demolitions are being done with extreme cruelty.”Savita helps her children with homework at a temporary home in Delhi. Modi sees India as a confident and modern superpower, a voice for the voiceless seizing the 21st century.

Persons: ”, Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak, Rhea Mogul, Narendra Modi, Harsh Mander, Jayanti Devi, Savita, ” Savita, “, ” Mander, Modi, ” Modi, …, ’, ” Devi Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, ”, British, CNN, Policy Research, Survey, India, ASI, CNN Homeless, Workers, Indian National Congress, Commonwealth Games, Global, “ Locations: New Delhi, “, Devi, Pragati, Rhea, India, Delhi, Mander, Ukraine, United States

☆ Rahul Gandhi: Indian court stays conviction, paving way for return as lawmaker
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —India’s top court on Friday stayed Rahul Gandhi’s defamation conviction, offering a crucial reprieve for the embattled former chair of the country’s main opposition party who was disqualified as a lawmaker following a trial he maintained was politically motivated. Gandhi’s Congress party decried the conviction, accusing Modi of using the courts as a way to expel him from parliament and silence his critics. Since then, the opposition leader has been in and out of courtrooms, fighting for a suspension of his sentence that would allow him to be reinstated as a lawmaker. Gujarat is the state Modi used to run before becoming prime minister. His grandmother Indira Gandhi was India’s first female leader, and his great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the country’s founding Prime Minister.

Persons: CNN —, Rahul Gandhi’s, Narendra Modi, Gandhi’s, KC Kaushik, ” Gandhi, Modi, K.C, Kaushik, Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, India’s, Jawaharlal Nehru Organizations: CNN, Press Trust of, Indian National Congress, Gandhi’s, BJP, Indian Locations: Press Trust of India, Gujarat, India, Karnataka, INDIA, BJP, Tamil Nadu

☆ India’s opposition is uniting to unseat Modi in next year’s election. Should he be worried?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

But despite previous personality clashes and power ambitions, the 26 opposition leaders appear unified in one goal: to overturn Modi. India's opposition leaders announce their alliance in Bengaluru, India, July 18, 2023. APGathering of important partiesCoined to evoke a sense of nationalism ahead of the 2024 general election, the INDIA alliance in a statement last week emphasized its goal of upholding the country’s democratic institutions. Modi described the INDIA alliance as a “hardcore corruption convention,” adding the BJP was on course to clinch another victory in 2024. Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times/Getty ImagesNo clear leaderWhile the BJP can bank on the popularity of Modi, the INDIA alliance has not yet put forward a leader to challenge him next year.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, ”, Niranjan Sahoo, PM Modi, tabling, “, Gilles Verniers, Sahoo, ” Sahoo, ” Rahul Gandhi, Sanchit Khanna, Gandhi, India’s, INIDA, shivers Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Developmental Inclusive Alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, INDIA, Indian National Congress, Analysts, PM Modi’s BJP, New Delhi’s Observer Research Foundation, PM, Samajwadi Party, Aam Admi Party, Ashoka University and Co, Trivedi, Political, Congress, Ashoka University, Hindustan Times, Modi, Observer Research Foundation Locations: New Delhi, India, INDIA, Bengaluru, BJP, restive, Manipur, West Bengal, India’s, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Lok, Karnataka

New Delhi CNN —Eleven people have been shot dead and 14 injured in a fresh outbreak of ethnic violence that has gripped the northeast Indian state of Manipur. The current unrest has seen some of the worst violence in recent years and has sparked criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governs Manipur. If they are given this status, other ethnic groups – many of whom are Christian – say they fear they will not have a fair chance for jobs and other benefits. People wait at a temporary shelter in a military camp on May 7, after being evacuated by the Indian army, as they flee ethnic violence that has hit the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Metei community dominates positions within the state government, and have been privy to more economic and infrastructural advancement than the other ethnic groups.

Persons: JNIMS, Deben, Arun Sankar, Narendra Modi, Modi, Amit Shah’s, Christian Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Raj Medicity Hospital, CNN, Getty, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Union, Indian National Congress Locations: New Delhi, Manipur, state’s, Imphal, Indian, Arun, Myanmar, Kashmir, India, Kuki

☆ What does India's BJP losing Karnataka elections mean for Modi?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has lost its only stronghold in the country’s south after voters in Karnataka state rejected the Hindu-nationalist policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in crucial local elections last week. The opposition Congress party won 135 seats in the state’s legislative assembly, versus 66 for the BJP, giving Modi’s opponents a boost as they prepare to challenge India’s populist leader in next year’s general election. “Were they to lose some or all of the remaining state elections this year, including three big states in the (central and northern) Hindi belt, that may be further indication of waning support,” he said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves to the crowd during campaigning for state elections in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on May 7. “A lot would depend on how Congress Party does in upcoming state assembly elections,” Verma said.

Yet he remains at the centre of India's opposition politics and the main target of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu- nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi entered politics and was first elected to parliament in 2004 from his family borough of Amethi in the northern heartland state of Uttar Pradesh. He repeated that victory in 2009 and 2014 but suffered a shock setback in 2019 when he lost the seat. However, he had also contested a seat in the Kerala state and won there to return to parliament. Outside parliament, he has often reminded his supporters of his family's commitment and sacrifices, talking about the assassinations of his grandmother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and his former prime minister father, Rajiv Gandhi.

☆ 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.

☆ Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Gujarat State Heads to the Polls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Shan Li | Krishna Pokharel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GANDHINAGAR, INDIA—Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi , will vote in state assembly elections starting this week, offering a barometer of the endurance of Mr. Modi’s personal appeal ahead of national elections in 2024 in which he will run for a third term. The Bharatiya Janata Party has ruled in the western coastal state for 27 years, and there is little doubt of another victory, but the party is leaving little to chance after a surprisingly tough challenge from its rival, the Indian National Congress Party, in 2017. Top BJP leaders were also stung by the party’s defeat in West Bengal last year after it poured money and resources into winning state elections there, analysts said.

☆ The Gandhis: from 'Kennedys of India' to the political wilderness
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“The Gandhis today are completely dwarfed and overshadowed by Narendra Modi,” said New Delhi-based political commentator Arati R. Jerath. Bettmann Archive/Getty imagesShe was elected prime minister from 1966 to 1977, and again in 1980. But with the ascendance of a new wave of right-wing politics, their party now lurks in the political wilderness, analysts say. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives a victory speech after winning India's general election, in New Delhi on May 23, 2019. But it seems unlikely he will ever become prime minister of the country, like his father, grandmother and great-grandfather before him.

☆ India’s Congress Party Ruled for Decades—Now It’s on Life Support
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Rajesh Roy | Shan Li | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

GUWAHATI, India—One of the most powerful political figures in the northeastern state of Assam spent two decades rising through the ranks of the Indian National Congress. But now Himanta Biswa Sarma governs his home state as a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Mr. Sarma says he left Congress after losing faith in the party’s direction under Rahul Gandhi , the scion of the country’s once powerful political dynasty. In the seven years since he left, Mr. Sarma has ascended to the state’s top job—the role of chief minister—and has helped the BJP gain control of the state.

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