Indians Vote in Penultimate Phase of Election

Date: 12 May 2019 - 21:15

News ID: ۶۵۸۷۹

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- Voters in north India lined up early on Sunday to cast their ballots in the second-to-last round of a seven-phase general election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi facing a diverse group of opposition parties seeking to deny him a second term.
More than 100 million people across seven states were voting on Sunday. The 39-day-long poll kicked off on April 11 with Modi as front-runner after an escalation of tension with neighboring Pakistan.
But opposition parties have taken heart at what they see as signs Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be losing ground and have begun negotiations over a post-election alliance even before polling ends on May 19. Votes will be counted on May 23.
The president of the main opposition Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, said the main issues in the election were unemployment, economic hardship in the countryside, the de-monetization of bank notes and a new sales tax.
A lack of new jobs - despite annual economic growth of about 7% - and the plight of farmers struggling with falling crop prices have been major worries for voters.
A new goods and services tax (GST), as well as Modi’s shock ban on all high-value currency notes in 2016, hurt small and medium businesses.
Some voters in the capital, New Delhi, said they were backing Modi because they were won over by his tough stance on security.
Indian warplanes attacked what the government said was a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in February, soon after a suicide car bomb attack in the disputed Kashmir region killed 40 police officers.
The aggressive response stirred nationalist passions that pollsters said could favor Modi in the election.
But concern about unemployment and crop prices have put the BJP on the back foot, and the opposition has in recent days felt more upbeat about its chances.
Political analysts say state-based and caste-driven parties could be decisive in determining the make-up of the next government.
Recent weeks have also been marked by personal attacks between leaders, including comments from Modi about the family of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty.
At a recent rally Modi called Gandhi’s late father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, "corrupt no. 1”. The BJP says Modi was reacting to Rahul Gandhi calling him a thief.