India to go to polls from April 11

India will hold a general election in seven stages starting on April 11, the election commission said on Sunday, in what will be the world’s biggest democratic exercise with prime minister Narendra Modi likely to benefit from tension with Pakistan.
Chief election commissioner Sunil Arora told reporters that about 900 million voters would be eligible for the polls, about 15 million between the ages of 18 and 19 years.
Until a few weeks ago, a shortage of jobs and weak farm prices were seen as denting Modi’s popularity.
But pollsters say his ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party has a clear advantage over opposition parties after India’s armed forces clashed with those of arch rival Pakistan last month, triggering a wave of patriotic fervour across the country of 1.3 billion.
‘For the first time I will vote for Narendra Modi, because I like what he has done against Pakistan,’ said Anjali Tivari as she was picking up her son from school in Mumbai.
‘I’m impressed. He gave the right answer to Pakistan.’
Modi touted his government’s achievements in a series of tweets after the announcement.
‘I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout. I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers,’ Modi tweeted.
India says its warplanes killed ‘a very large number of terrorists, trainers, senior commanders, and groups’ of extremists in a camp run by Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammad in northeastern Pakistan on February 26.
The extremist group claimed a suicide bomb attack that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in the disputed region of Kashmir on February 14, and India accused Pakistan of complicity.
Pakistan rejected the suggestion it was linked to the attack and said no one was killed in the Indian air strike.
The Indian attack and retaliatory aerial action by Pakistan brought the nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of another war.
India is battling multiple insurgencies in the state of Jammu & Kashmir and elections there are usually marred by violence.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Arora said an election commission team had visited the state to speak to stakeholders and has decided to appoint three special observers to the region to monitor the polling. He said assembly elections that are due to be held in the state, where the assembly was dissolved last year, won’t take place simultaneously with the general election.
Although questions were raised about how effective the Indian military action actually was, Modi’s approval rating has soared.
HSBC Securities and Capital Markets said in a note that national security and nationalism could trump economic issues in determining voters preferences.
India’s unemployment rate in February rose to the highest since September 2016, data from private think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy showed, even as the economy grew at its slowest pace in five quarters in the last three months of last year.
Votes will be counted on May 23, he said.
India’s election commission issued a notice asking political parties not to use images of the country’s armed forces in their campaign posters and other advertising during its upcoming general election.
The notice followed pictures posted to social media recently showing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party used images in their campaign posters of a captured Indian Air Force pilot recently returned by Pakistan after a clash with India over the disputed Kashmir territory.
The Election Commission said in a notice on its website on Saturday that political parties must refrain from using photographs of defence personnel in advertisements or their election campaign propaganda as the armed forces are ‘apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy.’
The commission cited a 2013 order that said photographs of defence personnel should not be used ‘in any manner in advertisement/propaganda/campaigning or in any another other manner in connections with elections by political parties and candidates.’
It called for ‘strict compliance’ with the order.
The pilot, Abhinandan Varthaman, was shot down on February 27 by Pakistani aircraft during clashes between the two nuclear-armed powers that began after a terror attack last month in Kashmir that killed 40 Indian paramilitary police. Pakistan released him last week as a peace gesture.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi hailed his release and claimed the clashes with Pakistan were an Indian victory. Nationalistic passions in India have risen since the terror attack.
Recent social media posts showed a campaign poster on a billboard in Indian capital of New Delhi with Varthaman’s face alongside Modi’s, along with the words, ‘If Modi is in power, it is possible! NaMo again 2019!’ NaMo is an acronym for Modi.
Later on Sunday, the Election Commission is due to announce the polling schedule for the upcoming general election, which will be the world’s biggest democratic exercise.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net