Dec 2, 2023, 03:09 PM IST
The numbers are not in but in and out of New Delhi, the verdict is out. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is most likely to return for third consecutive term. Here's why.
Top Opposition parties have at least come together under the umbrella of Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) but there is no common minimum program.
Increasingly, elections are now fought as personality battles on presidential scales. Modi remains most popular with a mix of political acumen, populist delivery and religious assertion. No other leader in India at present shows all these elements all at once.
Gandhi's increasingly appear distant from the heartland issues with an attitude which is more at surface with a hollow pretense for issues that matter at heart.
Modi has successfully harnessed the corporatisation of Bharatiya Janata Party started by party veterans such as Pramod Mahajan. BJP functions like a corporate, with a set of Key Responsibility Areas (KRAs) and accountability to the tasks of political prominence. This headstart has pushed them ahead of other political players.