India’s election campaign turns negative as Modi and ruling party embrace Islamophobic rhetoric

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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is increasingly resorting to overtly Islamophobic language during his election campaign, critics and observers say, as he seeks a third straight term governing the worlds most populous nation.. ..

As turnout in the polls so far shows a slight dip from five years ago, the popular leader and overwhelming favorite has embraced negative campaigning, they say, and received little pushback from civil society or election authorities.. . Followers of Modis Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some of its top figures have long been accused of using inflammatory language to describe the countrys 200 million Muslims, but rarely Modi himself..

But analysts and observers have noted multiple speeches hes made during this six-weekelection campaign, that began last month, specifically refer to Muslims and paint them in a negative light.. . . Calling Muslims infiltrators with large families, Modi has accused his main opposition, the Indian National Congress, without evidence, of intending to redistribute the countrys wealth to Muslims..

So, I think the BJPs resort to overt communal rhetoric is an effort to fight an election on its preferred terms rather than on issues where it is vulnerable.. . Muslim independent journalist Alishan Jafri noted that the day-to-day struggles brought by poverty and unemployment are affecting Muslims as much as its affecting poor Hindus, pointing to some 800 million people dependent on rations provided by the government.. ..

The Election Commission is pretty toothless and what powers it has had have been further weakened by changes made to how commissioners are appointed by making the Prime Ministers Office more central to that process, Nooruddin said.. . Modis April 21 speech about infiltrators has ignited widespread anger among Muslim leaders and opposition politicians, and calls for election authorities to investigate..

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