PATNA, India – India’s ruling party and its allies gave the impression of winning a key state election Tuesday as a barometer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government management of the coronavirus epidemic and the negative economic consequences of the pandemic.
The Indian Electoral Commission’s online page showed that Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party and its regional best friend Janata Dal United were at the helm of 123 seats in the 243-seat east bihar state legislature. A coalition of more than 3 political parties opposed to the outgoing alliance is left behind with 113 seats.
The election of Bihar, the most populous state of the time in India and one of the poorest, is perceived as a referendum on the popularity of Modi, who have criticized what they call the inept handling of the pandemic by his government, which has led to more than 127,000 deaths. Bihar is India’s main electoral battlefield, where Modi’s party and his alliance spouse oppose the reborn Rashtriya Janata Dal party, led by Tejashwi Yadav, 31.
The young leader campaigned in alliance with the Indian National Congress, the country’s main opposition party and some left-wing parties, and has made youth employment his main electoral promise in the state where the unemployment rate is double the national average.
Modi’s party and allies have focused on nationalist policies. To win votes, coalition leaders referred to the erosion of the semi-autonomy of Muslim-majority Kashmir last summer, the recent placement of a ceremonial cornerstone for a temple in central India on the site. of a mosque that was destroyed by Hindu rioters decades ago, and the current border confrontation with China in the Ladakh Mountains.
Yadav’s coalition was first noted as a long-term effort. But the party caught the eye as pollsters predicted a wave of anti-fanfare opposed to the existing government amid a pandemic that has resulted in at least 1,000 deaths and 220,000 cases of coronavirus in the state so far.
The polls were also perceived as an indicator of Modi’s popularity, the timing of which was marked by a shrinking economy, an expansion of social conflicts, protests against discriminatory legislation, and the government’s reaction to the pandemic.
The number of cases shown in India, the world’s largest moment after the United States, exceeds 8. 5 million.
Modi’s overall popularity remains unrivalled in India, yet he has faced demanding situations more complicated than expected in recent state polls.
In the more than two years, Modi’s party lost six national elections and won two. Despite the party’s radical victory for a moment in May 2019, the Bharatiya Janata party suffered a setback in the primaries by losing two key coalition partners in northern Punjab and western Maharashtra.
Millions of others voted in Bihar, where the authorities, in an effort to prevent others from spreading the virus while voting, increased the number of polling stations, extended voting time by an hour at peak sites, and demanded disinfection of electronic devices. voting machines.
The political crusade was first replaced by virtual rallies, but political parties performed rallies that attracted tens of thousands of supporters, many of whom were not dressed in masks.
This has raised considerations that coronavirus instances will increase and strain the state’s severely funded and weak health care system.