NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Here are some of the main promises made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its election manifesto and at campaign rallies.
Modi is expected to win a third straight term after voting in the general election that ended on Saturday, exit polls showed. Results are due on June 4.
UNIFORM CIVIL CODE
The BJP’s manifesto promises a national code that will replace religion-specific civil laws in the country, a move many Muslims say is aimed at curbing centuries-old religious practices that the minority follows.
A uniform set of civil laws has been one of BJP’s core promises but has remained elusive as it is communally contentious.
Currently, Indians from different religions can follow laws specific to their faith or opt for a secular code. Laws on who and how many people a person can marry, how to end a marriage, and inheritance differ by religion. The new code will spell out the same set of rules for everyone.
The BJP says the code is critical to ensure gender justice, equality and to foster national unity and integration.
TEMPLES AT CONTROVERSIAL SITES
After Modi inaugurated a temple to the Hindu God Ram at a fiercely contested site earlier this year, fulfilling a long-held promise, party leaders have said another emphatic electoral victory would help them build temples on other disputed sites.
Hindu groups have for long claimed that for centuries Muslim invaders built mosques over demolished Hindu temples. Courts are hearing cases against two such mosques in BJP-run Uttar Pradesh state: in Modi’s Varanasi constituency and in Mathura.
ONE NATION, ONE ELECTION
Modi’s party has promised to implement an official report recommending elections to India’s 28 state assemblies and national parliament at the same time, every five years.
Currently, state elections do not need to coincide with national elections, leading to a situation where the country hosts one election or another every few months.
A government-appointed panel in March said holding simultaneous elections would improve governance and growth, but Modi’s opponents say it violates the federal system guaranteed in India’s constitution.
The move will require a new law that will have to be passed by parliament and ratified by all states.
ECONOMY
The BJP manifesto “guarantees” India will become the third-largest economy in the world, from fifth-largest. The party promises to maintain high growth and low inflation while keeping budget deficit under control. It also talks about boosting manufacturing and employment opportunities.
To make India an attractive destination, a new Modi government is likely to implement labour laws that make it easier for companies to hire and fire employees.
However, the government has failed to create enough jobs during the last 10 years, which led to sporadic protests from job seekers. According to private think-tank CMIE, the unemployment rate in India rose to 8.1% in April from 7.4% in March 2024.
Modi also has not laid out firm plans to control high food prices, a key plank for the opposition during the campaign.
PEACE IN INDIAN NORTHEAST
Modi’s party also promises to maintain peace in the nation’s northeast, without mentioning the BJP-run and violence-torn state of Manipur where ethnic clashes have killed at least 220 people and displaced thousands.
Many state residents say there is widespread disappointment over the inability of Modi’s government to end what critics have called a mixture of anarchy and civil war. Rahul Gandhi, Modi’s key rival from the Congress party, has repeatedly questioned Modi’s failure to visit the state despite the prolonged conflict.
(Reporting by Shivangi Acharya; editing by Giles Elgood)
