India’s Narendra Modi celebrates a return to dominance

{"text":[[{"start":9.2,"text":"After Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party won a historic landslide victory in the opposition stronghold of West Bengal, India’s prime minister donned a traditional Bengali dhoti trouser cloth for his victory speech at the BJP’s New Delhi headquarters."}],[{"start":25.7,"text":"Modi’s choice of clothing for his address on Monday evening, analysts said, reflected his skill at modulating his Hindu nationalist message for India’s widely differing regions as he positions himself for a possible run at a fourth term in 2029."}],[{"start":41.3,"text":"Just two years after the shock loss of the BJP’s majority in India’s national parliament, Modi and his party are as dominant as ever. As well as winning West Bengal, the biggest prize in this year’s state elections, the BJP increased its majority in the north-eastern state of Assam and won joint control with allies of the territory of Puducherry."}],[{"start":64.25,"text":"“The verdict from Bengal is a huge boost to Modi and it completely neutralises whatever setback he suffered in the 2024 parliamentary election,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times. “West Bengal was acting like the last frontier. That the BJP has been able to win there so stunningly is a huge boost for Modi’s political narrative.”"}],[{"start":88.05,"text":"Monday’s results, together with victories in other state elections last year, have transformed Modi’s political fortunes since the BJP’s loss of scores of seats at the 2024 general election forced him to rely on smaller regional parties to govern."}],[{"start":104.75,"text":"The BJP and its allies now control states and territories containing more than 70 per cent of India’s population — a high-water mark comparable to that achieved by the Indian National Congress party with Indira Gandhi as prime minister in the 1970s."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":120.85,"text":"Key to Modi’s revival, analysts say, is a relentless focus on grassroots campaigning, increased use of welfare handouts and determination to stay close to voter concerns. The premier campaigned personally in West Bengal and dispatched his closest lieutenant, home affairs minister Amit Shah, to supervise the campaign."}],[{"start":141.29999999999998,"text":"Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, Eurasia Group’s practice head for South Asia, said Modi’s 2024 setback had made him nervous about losing touch with the public. “Modi will often bring in people with differing views and have them argue,” he said. “He is very focused on ensuring he gets dissenting opinion . . . [and] multiple sources of information.” "}],[{"start":162.35,"text":"Opposition parties have cried foul, saying the deletion of more than 9mn voters from West Bengal’s electoral rolls, ostensibly to remove duplicate entries and illegal residents, tainted the result. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":173.29999999999998,"text":"Modi opponents, including veteran West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee of the leftwing Trinamool Congress (TMC), who lost her seat on Monday, have accused the BJP and government of stealing the election."}],[{"start":187.6,"text":"“Through the electoral commission they can defeat us, but morally we won,” Banerjee said. "}],[{"start":193,"text":"But some supporters privately conceded that Banerjee’s long rule, weak management of the economy and her old-school politics had lost her public support."}],[{"start":202.35,"text":"Analysts said that even after allowing for the contentious cuts to the voter roll, which removed about 12 per cent of the state’s registered electorate, the scale of the BJP’s success in taking 207 seats out of 294 state assembly seats showed it had broad support among voters."}],[{"start":219.65,"text":"Soon after the results were announced, the BJP posted a map of the country on social media calling it “Modimay Bharat”, or an “India full of Modi”. "}],[{"start":229.1,"text":"“Modi and the BJP are probably at their strongest,” said Ashok Malik, head of India practice with The Asia Group, an advisory firm. “The BJP is like a colossus in the political firmament.”"}],[{"start":242,"text":"A single man with no children and an ascetic lifestyle, Modi enjoys a mass following and a potent political brand few world leaders can match. At 75, he appears vigorous, showing no sign of the political fatigue that has affected other populist leaders of the same generation."}],[{"start":259.9,"text":"But while Modi has captured the popular imagination with his oft-repeated ambition to make India a developed nation by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence, opponents say his desire to become the most consequential leader since its first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru poses risks for the world’s largest democracy. "}],[{"start":279.7,"text":"Critics point to increasing authoritarian trends, citing government curbs on social media companies, pressure on traditional media and the undermining of institutions such as the Supreme Court and the national election commission as the BJP cements its dominance. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":294.4,"text":"After his victory, the prime minister stressed that the country had “made it clear that it wants development, not disputes”. But Shah used more divisive rhetoric, hailing the BJP triumph as a defeat for “infiltrators” — a term he uses for Muslim migrants from Bangladesh."}],[{"start":311.04999999999995,"text":"Despite such rhetoric, Eurasia’s Chaudhuri said the BJP had made great efforts to soften its image in West Bengal as a north Indian Hindi-speaking and Hindu nationalist organisation committed to vegetarianism."}],[{"start":323.34999999999997,"text":"This included “breaking even the strongest taboos the BJP represented”, with Modi praying in Kolkata at one of the few temples where sacrifices of animal meat are offered to the goddess Kali, Chaudhuri. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":335.65,"text":"The BJP also took advantage of opposition parties accused of complacency and a lack of unity. Parliamentary opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, a grandson of Indira, publicly accused Banerjee on the eve of the vote of not running a clean government, an allegation the BJP took up with glee."}],[{"start":353.29999999999995,"text":"Gandhi’s Congress consoled itself on Monday with a victory in the southern state of Kerala over a Communist-led coalition. But his party now rules either alone or with allies in only six of India’s 36 states and territories in contrast with the BJP’s leadership role in 22. "}],[{"start":372.65,"text":"“The opposition can’t seem to find narrative to counter Modi,” said New Delhi-based political analyst Rahul Bhatia, adding: “Modi has been able to capture the imagination of a lot of Indians.” "}],[{"start":384.59999999999997,"text":"Additional reporting by Jyotsna Singh in New Delhi"}],[{"start":394.54999999999995,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778055552_1508.mp3"}