Arrests, raids and infighting: India's opposition takes on Modi
By Vineet Khare
How fair is the electoral landscape in India’s general election?
Not very, says the opposition alliance. It accuses the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of denying it a level playing-field.
The BJP, seeking a third consecutive term, is ahead in opinion polls, and the opposition, which has been short of vote-winning national leaders in recent years, appears to have much ground to make up.
Formed last July and made up of the main opposition Congress and smaller and regional parties, the coalition named itself INDIA, an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. Its more than two dozen members are an unlikely, unwieldy grouping brought together by their desire to unseat the BJP.
The opposition alleges the government is using its investigative agencies and financial influence to gain the upper hand. Mr Modi dismisses such claims as mere “excuses”.
Fuelling these accusations are recent arrests of key opposition figures, such as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former chief minister Hemant Soren of Jharkhand State on corruption charges they say are baseless and politically motivated.
Mr Kejriwal, one of the government’s fiercest critics, was taken into custody a month before the election began, depriving the opposition alliance of one of its most prominent and popular campaigners.
Since the BJP came to power a decade ago, more than 100 politicians have been investigated by India’s federal agencies – 95% of them from the opposition, the Indian Express reports. The paper finds that many later switched allegiance to the BJP. Of 25 opposition leaders under investigation for corruption who did so, 23 saw cases against them dropped or put on hold, it reports.
