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India’s 2022 state elections: India’s biggest state begins voting in key test of Narendra Modi popularity
![India’s biggest state begins voting in key test of Narendra Modi popularity]()
If BJP holds Uttar Pradesh it would bolster ruling party’s claim for third victory in 2024 parliamentary polls India’s biggest state begins voting in key test of Narendra Modi popularity
Uttar Pradesh elections have long been considered a bellwether for national politics. Experts say the outcome of these elections will be pivotal for Modi’s bid for a third term in 2024 and will decide what kind of a democracy the country will be.
Five states in India will head to the polls beginning Thursday to kick off a high-stakes election season that experts say is likely to determine the political direction of the world’s largest democracy — and the fortunes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
More than 180 million voters — greater than the population of Russia — are eligible to cast ballots in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa. The BJP is in power in four of the states, which several opposition parties are seeking to recapture.
The prize catch is Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state. A flat expanse in northern India, Uttar Pradesh is home to some of the country’s poorest communities, but given its size often holds the key to power in New Delhi.
The elections this time are being held under the shadow of the pandemic, with restrictions on rallies and public meetings. Last year, Indian officials were criticized by health experts for conducting state elections despite signs that a second wave was taking hold in the country.
During campaigning, the BJP has appealed to large Hindu majorities in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Both states are home to important holy sites, some of which are disputed by Hindus and minority Muslims.
Opinion polls suggest the BJP will win the vote in both states, despite some opposition parties seeking to mirror its Hindu-first agenda and appeal to its support base.
“We have seen all political parties playing within the same field of the BJP,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, the author of a biography of Modi. “That is one of their biggest successes.”
Uttar Pradesh, home to about 200 million people, votes in seven phases ending on 7 March, while most other states begin polling in the coming days. Counting in the five states begins on 10 March, with the results expected soon after.
The BJP faces a challenge from Congress in the north-eastern state of Manipur, while in the western state of Goa, the Aam Aadmi party (AAP) is trying to expand its reach beyond its traditional base of New Delhi.
