International Desk : The second phase of the Lok Sabha Elections (National Parliament Elections) has just ended in India, the world’s largest democratic country. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his country is not heading towards a dictatorship. He said that those who say India is becoming an ‘electoral dictatorship’ under his rule are venting their anger on his rivals. These are just fictions.
The BJP is using the criminal probe as a tool to weaken its rivals in the country’s ongoing Lok Sabha elections on Monday (April 29); Modi said this after such allegations.
In an interview published on Monday (April 29) to The Times of India, he said, “The opposition, unable to come to power, has started defaming India on the world stage. They spread lies about our people, our democracy, and our institutions.”
Meanwhile, Modi’s popularity among Indians is increasing even after almost a decade in power. Analysts believe that he will win the third term in the current Lok Sabha elections as well.
Analysts believe that the recent investigative measures against Modi’s opponents are increasing his chances of re-election. In particular, in February this year, their bank accounts were seized in a tax-related case against Congress, India’s largest opposition party.
On the other hand, the Election Commission of India said that a total of 2,963 candidates have submitted nominations from 95 constituencies in 12 states and Union Territories. According to the Election Commission of the country, 658 nominations have been submitted from 26 constituencies in Gujarat for the third phase. Which is the highest of the third phase? Next is Maharashtra. 519 candidates have filed nominations from 11 constituencies there. The highest number of nominations have been received from the Osmanabad constituency in Maharashtra. 77 candidates are fighting in that center. Next is Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. A total of 68 candidates have submitted nominations there. However, only 1,563 nominations have been declared valid out of so many. Among them, eight candidates are from the Betul constituency of Madhya Pradesh. This center was supposed to vote in the second phase.
On the other hand, BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal won unopposed in Gujarat’s Surat. Eight candidates withdrew their nominations from the Center. The nomination of a congressional candidate has been cancelled. After that, Mukesh Dalal of the BJP was elected MP.
Amit Shah himself is in the voting field in this episode. He is a candidate from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat. Apart from this, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting from Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh. Dimple Yadav is a candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri constituency. The state secretary of CPIM is fighting from Murshidabad in Bengal. Salim.
Note that since Modi came to power in 2014, India’s media freedom index has dropped significantly. The ban has also forced rights groups such as Amnesty International to drastically curtail their local activities.
