Modi seeks third term in India’s election

India’s Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi is set to win his third term in a row as prime minister, Rupam Jain and Krishna N. Das report.

Virtually all opinion polls say the 73-year-old will become the second leader in Indian history to do so, rivalling the country’s founding leader Jawaharlal Nehru.

This would see him once again defeat Nehru’s once-dominant Congress Party and great-grandson Rahul Gandhi.

In direct contrast with the historically secular Congress, Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have consistently wooed India’s majority Hindu community.

The BJP’s populist measures including shepherding the building of a temple to the Hindu god Lord Ram on the site of a razed mosque, igniting a wave of religious fervour.

Modi’s approval rating is 75%, the highest among 25 world leaders tracked by the U.S. data intelligence company Morning Consult.

Opposition leaders say another term for Modi could severely damage India’s secular and democratic traditions, arguing that his Hindu nationalist agenda has polarised the country.

via Reuters

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