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Modi remains roundly popular after a decade in office that has seen India rise in diplomatic clout and economic power – Copyright AFP\/File John MACDOUGALL, Andrew CABALLERO-REYNOLDS<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nSean GLEESON and Abhaya SRIVASTAVA<\/em><\/p>\nIndia begins voting Friday in a six-week election, with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s victory all but assured, raising concerns for the health of the world\u2019s largest democracy.<\/p>\n
Modi remains roundly popular after a decade in office that has seen India rise in diplomatic clout and economic power, as well as efforts by his government to bring the country\u2019s majority faith in ever closer alignment with its politics.<\/p>\n
Analysts have long expected him to win against a fractious alliance of more than two dozen parties who have yet to name a candidate for prime minister.<\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s prospects have been further bolstered by several criminal probes into his opponents, sparking concerns from UN rights chief Volker Turk and human rights organisations that the vote will be skewed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need the United Nations to tell me our elections should be free and fair,\u201d foreign minister S. Jaishankar told reporters while campaigning this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0people of India\u00a0will ensure that,\u201d he added. \u201cSo don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Modi, 73, has already led the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) through two landslide victories in 2014 and 2019, forged in part by his appeals to the Hindu faithful.<\/p>\n
This year in the town of Ayodhya, he presided over the inauguration of a grand temple to the deity Ram, built on the grounds of a centuries-old mosque razed by Hindu zealots.<\/p>\n
Construction of the temple fulfilled a long-standing demand of Hindu activists and was widely celebrated across India with back-to-back television coverage and street parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nation is creating the genesis of a new history,\u201d he told the thousands gathered for the ceremony, among them Bollywood celebrities and cricket stars.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Our ability to fight\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
The opposition Congress party, which ruled the country almost uninterrupted for decades after independence from Britain, is meanwhile a shadow of its former self and out of office in all but three of the country\u2019s 28 states.<\/p>\n
Its leaders have stitched together an alliance of more than two dozen regional parties to present a united front against the BJP\u2019s well-oiled and well-funded electoral juggernaut.<\/p>\n
But the bloc has been plagued by disputes over seat-sharing deals and suffered the defection of a leading member to the government.<\/p>\n
It has also accused Modi\u2019s government of using law enforcement agencies to selectively target the bloc\u2019s leaders, several of whom are the subject of active criminal investigations.<\/p>\n
Among them is Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested last month and remains in custody on allegations his party received kickbacks while handing out liquor licences to private companies.<\/p>\n
Rahul Gandhi is the most prominent Congress politician, and his father, grandmother and great-grandfather all served as prime minister.<\/p>\n
He was briefly disqualified from parliament last year after being convicted of criminal libel.<\/p>\n
His party\u2019s bank accounts have been frozen since February by India\u2019s income tax department after a dispute over returns that were filed five years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no money to campaign, we cannot support our candidates,\u201d the 53-year-old told reporters last month. \u201cOur ability to fight elections has been damaged.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Contempt for all dissent\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Modi\u2019s tenure has seen India overtake former colonial ruler Britain as the world\u2019s fifth-biggest economy, with Western nations lining up to court a prospective ally against regional rival China\u2019s growing assertiveness.<\/p>\n
In doing so, they have sidestepped concerns over the taming of India\u2019s once-vibrant press and restrictions on civil society that have seen rights groups like Amnesty severely curtail their local operations.<\/p>\n
Last year, the tax office raided the BBC\u2019s local offices weeks after the British broadcaster aired a documentary questioning Modi\u2019s role in 2002 religious riots that killed around 1,000 people, most of them Muslims.<\/p>\n
Should Modi win again, his third term \u201cwill be even more characterised by contempt for all dissent\u201d, political scientist Suhas Palshikar told AFP.<\/p>\n
Gandhi has criticised the government for democratic backsliding and its chest-thumping Hindu nationalism, which have left many among the country\u2019s 220-million-strong Muslim minority fearful for their futures.<\/p>\n
But Gandhi has already led Congress to two defeats against Modi and his efforts to dent the premier\u2019s popularity have failed to register with voters.<\/p>\n
Published opinion polls are rare in India, but a Pew survey last year found Modi was viewed favourably by nearly 80 percent of the public.<\/p>\n
A total of 968 million people are eligible to vote in the election \u2014 more than the entire population of the United States, European Union and Russia combined.<\/p>\n
Voting will be staggered over seven stages between April 19 and June 1, with more than a million polling stations across the country.<\/p>\n
Ballots from around the country will be counted all at once on June 4 and are usually announced on the same day.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Modi the favourite as India readies for election marathon
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