ISLAMABAD – Many observers see the 2019 election as an inflection point inIndian history, according to a latest US Congressional report which saidthat a repeat performance by the ruling BJP in the polls could herald a newera of single-party dominance.
In the report prepared primarily for US lawmakers, the independentCongressional Research Service (CRS) on the ongoing elections said thatPrime Minister Narendra Modi “has become the primary, if not sole target ofthe opposition”, but no individual challenger has emerged.
The CRS reports warns that a continuation of the Bharatiya Janata Party-ledadministration could entail an “unwelcome continuation of its perceivedilliberal policies”.
“A repeat performance could thus herald a new era of single-partydominance. Perhaps more crucially, the election pits an unabashedly Hindunationalist prime minister and ruling party against an array of moresecular minded parties, some focused on the interests of India’s largelower-caste and Muslim minorities,” said the CRS report.
The CRS is the bipartisan and independent research wing of the US Congresswhich prepares reports on various domestic and global issues for thelawmakers for information purposes only. The reports, prepared by subjectexperts, are not considered an official view of the US Congress.
Read Top Stories
While Congress president chief Rahul Gandhi, “the inheritor of a familydynasty that includes three past prime ministers , has the highest profileamong potential leaders of an opposition coalition, the CRS report says theopposition’s zeal to oust the NDA has led to some unusual alliances “InJanuary, the leaders of two powerful Uttar Pradesh-based parties agreed toset aside their bitter rivalry to cooperate in defeating the BJP. Otherinfluential regional parties are maneuvering toward a potential oppositiongrand alliance,” said the report dated March 28.
Prime Minister Modi and his BJP aspire to win another five-year term with aruling majority. The Congress party historically dominant, but badlydefeated in 2014 seeks to build on recent state-level wins and potentiallyally with powerful regional opposition parties to dislodge the BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance (NDA) in New Delhi, according to the reportaccessed by PTI.
“Many observers see the upcoming election as an inflection point in Indianhistory. BJP’s 2014 win, with 52 per cent of Lok Sabha seats, marked an endto 30 years of coalition politics at the national level,” it said.
