Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Things are certainly heating up here in India, both politically and otherwise,
00:06 because the world's biggest election has been scheduled somehow in the peak of a horrific Indian summer.
00:13 And like you said, starting tomorrow, for the next month, about a billion Indian voters will be eligible to vote in the next government.
00:19 And the man in the poll position, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is aiming for a historic, record-breaking, record-equalling third term,
00:28 a feat that has only been accomplished by one other prime minister in India's 77-year history,
00:35 and that is India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
00:40 So, Prime Minister Modi's BJP is so confident of a victory that they're predicting a mammoth majority victory
00:49 of 370 seats in a 543-strong parliament.
00:55 But the opposition, though, the opposition says that this is a farcical election.
01:00 They believe it's not a level playing field, and they point out that many opposition party leaders
01:05 are actually fighting this election, or having to fight this election with one arm tied behind their back.
01:10 Many opposition party leaders have been threatened with arrest warrants, legal notices,
01:17 in connection with cases, both current cases and historic cases.
01:21 For example, at the start of this month, on the 5th of April, an arrest warrant was issued
01:27 for the chief minister of one of India's largest states, Bihar, in regards to a case,
01:32 an alleged defence arms dealing case, that goes back 30 years ago.
01:38 A few weeks before this general election, India's income tax department froze the bank accounts
01:45 of one of the leading opposition parties, the Grand Old Party of India, the Congress Party,
01:49 effectively leaving them cash-strapped as they go into a general election.
01:54 And last but not the least, the chief minister of the national capital, New Delhi,
01:59 where we're reporting out of right now, is currently in jail on the eve of a general election,
02:05 leaving the opposition party, the Aam Aadmi Party, effectively headless as they go into this general election.
02:11 So in a month from now, we should know which narrative the people of India have chosen to believe.