Has Modi wave peaked? And jury still out on BJP’s Pasmanda outreach — global media reports

Has Modi wave peaked? And jury still out on BJP’s Pasmanda outreach — global media reports

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “a mass following and a potent political brand honed over decades”, but the voter turnout six weeks into the elections is lower than in 2019, indicating that Modi may not reach his goal of increasing BJP’s majority in Parliament, says journalist John Reed in a Financial Times report, ‘Is the cult of Modi starting to lose its lustre?’.

Many commentators blame this dent in Modi’s cult status on voter fatigue over “soaring food prices and unemployment”, says Reed. While the PM’s office heads “a carefully curated image-making operation”, critics say Modi also consolidated power by weakening the press, civil society, Parliament, and courts and jailing key opponents, adds Reed. Voters, he says, face a choice between endorsing “Modi’s model of pro-business, majoritarian strongman rule” or reverting to “traditional parliamentary democracy”.

“India is adapting to a new era of dangerous heat, even as climbing temperatures are making its transition to a cleaner economy more difficult,” writes journalist Manuela Andreoni in the New York Times report, ‘How India Is Coping With Extreme Heat’.

According to the report, since April, heat waves exacerbated by climate change have sent temperatures soaring above 46 degrees Celsius in cities such as New Delhi, but climate change remains largely absent from the election campaign. Adreoni says India developed a heat action plan in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad after a deadly heat wave in 2010, but even as local governments such as Telangana try out strategies such as reflective rooftops, many national plans lack resources. While renewable energy capacity has been growing fast, India’s growing economy still heavily relies on coal, complicating efforts to address climate change, she adds.

‘Is India’s free press not so free after a decade of Modi?’, asks Aishwarya S. Iyer in a CNN report. She highlights that the PM, who has not taken a single solo press conference, stands accused of suppressing press freedom and using anti-terror legislation against reporters. One of the examples she gives is of Siddique Kappan, a journalist jailed for over two years while covering a rape-and-murder case. Arrested under anti-terror and money laundering laws, Kappan’s case underscores a broader crackdown on press freedom, with India plummeting to 161st in the World Press Freedom Index, she writes.

The arrest of NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha, the resignation of Ravish Kumar from NDTV, and foreign correspondents Avani Dias and Vanessa Dougnac having to leave India are also cited as examples of the government stifling media voices critical of it. “There is very little time and space left, so we’re living our last moments,” Ravish Kumar tells Iyer.

In the Al Jazeera report, ‘Modi’s BJP wants the votes of India’s ‘Pasmanda’ Muslims. Will they bite?’, journalist Ishadrita Lahiri delves into Modi’s attempts to make inroads among Pasmanda Muslims ahead of the elections, saying the jury is still out on whether his strategy will work. In a surprise move, Modi, in a televised interview, denied making hate speeches against Muslims despite referring to them as “infiltrators” and “those with many children” during election rallies and defended himself by saying he was talking about poor families, writes Lahiri. While BJP’s outreach aims to show caste as a Muslim issue, as well, and attract Pasmanda votes, many Muslims remain sceptical, she writes.

Speaking with Lahiri, All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz founder Ali Anwar described the BJP outreach as “an eyewash” and accused the party of promoting religious hatred. “If the BJP does not engage in communalism, then their party will be finished,” the article quotes him as saying.

Bangladesh faces a diplomatic challenge over the Teesta River project as “it navigates competing interests from India and China”, writes Kamal Uddin Mazumder, in his report in The Diplomat. Despite strong bilateral ties, India has failed to get the Teesta water-sharing treaty finalised, but after China showed its interest in funding the Teesta River project, India has made a counter-offer to keep China out of the region, he writes.

It would be a delicate balancing act for Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the project is crucial to its impoverished northwestern region, writes Mazumder, adding that Hasina, however, may decide that India cannot realistically replace China.

Chinese drill around Taiwan, Sunak announces polls

China has announced two days of military drills surrounding Taiwan as “punishment” for “separatist acts” of holding an election and voting a new president into power but Taiwan has responded by accusing China of “irrational provocation and disruption of regional peace and stability”. To know more, read The Guardian’s report.

In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made a surprise announcement of holding general elections 4 July, saying he will “fight for every vote”. Read the BBC article to know more.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)