Elections India

The recent and resounding electoral victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Assam, the largest of India’s North-Eastern States, carries particular importance. The journalist Ash Narain Roy, director of the Institute for Social Sciences gives a comprehensive report on the BJP victory in Assam.

In his first Independence Day speech the new Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed himself as a master orator. And he projectet an unknown inclusive persona. Which isn't Modi's known public image so far.

Exactly one month ago the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. The young blogger Avani Tewani analysed the first decisions of the new government and assessed the political measures.

Prime Minister Narenda Modi faces the challenge of balancing threats to India’s national security while maintaining good relations and peace with its neighbours. Modi's visit in Bhutan is seen as both, a demonstration of India's strength and the willingness for collaboration.

Avani Tewari is a 19 year old law student from New Delhi, pursuing her studies from Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat. In this web dossier Avani is writing down her reflection on the main debates in the media after the elections and her personal impression of the political discussion.

With a favourable ratio between the working age population, children and senior citizens India is at the onset of a "demographic bonus". Will the new government be able to utilise this advantage for sustainable economic growth?

Avani Tewari is a 19 year old law student from New Delhi, pursuing her studies from Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat. In this web dossier Avani is writing down her reflection on the main debates in the media after the elections and her personal impression of the political discussion.

Avani Tewari is a 19 year old law student from New Delhi, pursuing her studies from Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat. In this web dossier Avani is writing down her reflection on the main debates in the media after the elections and her personal impression of the political discussion.

India's new ruling party has earned itself the reputation of inciting communal tension, and its leader has been accused of turning a blind eye to anti-Muslim violence. Marian Brehmer spoke to India's leading political scientist, Rajeev Bhargava, about Narendra Modi's electoral victory, Hindu–Muslim relations and secularism.

Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) controversial top candidate, won a surprising landslide victory, raising high expectations for many and fears among others.

To which results will the elections in India lead? Will the regional vote decide or the urban vote? Rainer Hörig travelled to the countryside and asked farmers and workers about their opinions.

The new Aam Aadmi Party is spreading hope for many people. The manifestos published before the elections are usually overrun with generalities because they want to please everyone and not alienate any voter group. For the poor, inflation and corruption are the main concerns. The youth wants better education and career opportunities, and an end to corruption.

In three short articles, German journalist Rainer Hörig, who has been living in Pune since 1989, reports on the election campaign in India. He visited a village in Maharashtra, accompanied young campaign aids from the Aam Aadmi Party on a canvassing mission in Pune, and interviewed urban slum dwellers on what they expect from the election. These reports provide a vivid impression of how the election campaign is carried out there and what moves the people politically.

A decade of UPA-Congress rule in India ends with limited progress on the Indo-Pak relations.The fact that outgoing Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, despite his good intentions, could not visit the country of his birth even once sums up the structural constraints of this troubled relationship.

It is election season in India, and there are few places like Uttar Pradesh to get a feel which way the wind is blowing. Photo journalist Nikhil Roshan has captured some impressive scenes on his travels.

Since its unexpected victory in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party has led two coalition governments. Now, ten years later, the party finds itself in deep crisis. If nothing else, then at least the heavy defeats in the last assembly elections 2013 mean that the Congress enters the Lok Sabha elections with a considerable handicap.

Narendra Modi of the hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the most conspicuous contender for prime minister in the Indian general elections. Sebastian Schwecke analyses his party's chances to win sufficient seats in India's lower house of parliament.

Indian "middle classes" had for long been spectators in electoral politics. However, as the country prepares for the 16th general elections, this time around, they seem to be audible and visible everywhere. Who are the middle class in India and what are their role in the election?