The general elections in India are considered the world’s leading large-scale election, with nearly 970 million voters registered to vote, accounting for more than 10% of the global population.
Analysts said that the elections have become the focus of international public opinion not only because of its large scale but also because this South Asian country has an increasingly important voice in international forums, and is an economy with the world's leading growth rate.
The election results will have profound impacts on both the future of the country of more than 1.4 billion people and the geopolitical context in the Indo-Pacific region.
In the election lasting more than 40 days, from April 19, Indian voters will vote to elect 543/545 lawmakers to the Indian Lok Sabha (the lower house) for the next five-year term. The party that wins the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha will form a new government.
Despite facing competition from a coalition of 26 opposition parties led by the National Congress (INC), recent public opinion polls showed that Prime Minister Modi's Indian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is dominating the race to the Lok Sabha.
Analysts said India’s achievements reaped in the past ten years are the BJP's "trump card" in the upcoming race. In the context of the global economy facing many difficulties, India will achieve spectacular economic growth of about 7.6% in 2023.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said India will be the bright spot of the Asian economy, with a stable growth rate of about 6.5% in 2024 and 2025. IMF data showed that India has risen to become the world's fifth-largest economy. Additionally, in the past ten years, about 250 million Indians escaped poverty, and per capita income nearly doubled.
Not only scoring points with impressive socio-economic development results, but Prime Minister Modi's Government has also achieved many foreign accomplishments in recent years. The relationship between India and important partners, such as the US, the European Union (EU), and ASEAN, as well as India’s voice at international forums, is constantly being strengthened. The year 2023 was an exciting year for Indian diplomacy.
Successfully assuming the role of Chair of the Group of leading developed and emerging economies in the world (G20), with many important milestones, such as campaigning for the G20 to admit the African Union (AU) as a member, strengthening the voice of countries in the southern hemisphere, and reforming multilateral development banks, showed New Delhi's growing influence in efforts to solve global problems.
However, to win people’s votes, parties participating in the upcoming general elections, including the BJP, need to find solutions to the painful problems that are attracting the attention of many voters. That is solving unemployment and income inequality, reducing inflation and poverty, developing infrastructure, and expanding social welfare programmes.
According to a report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the unemployment rate of Indian youth is much higher than the global average. The ILO believed that the Indian economy has not created enough jobs in the non-agricultural sector to keep up with the abundant supply of qualified young workers. The unemployment rate among graduates remained high, about 29%.
In its newly released election platform, the BJP pledges to create more jobs, modernise infrastructure, expand social welfare programs, and develop India into a hub for the pharmaceutical industry, energy, semiconductor components and tourism. The BJP also affirmed its efforts to put India on track to become a developed country by 2047, when the country celebrates 100 years of Independence.
Despite reaping many achievements in socio-economic development, as well as strengthening its position in the international arena, India is still facing many challenges in the context of unpredictable fluctuations in the world situation. The upcoming general elections play an important role in determining India’s future development.
