frozen accounts, “purchased” media… The completely muzzled electoral campaign of the opposition to Narendra Modi

United under a broad coalition, the political opponents do not despair of shaking the Hindu nationalist Prime Minister, given the clear winner of the legislative vote.

Hindered, weakened, but still there. Faced with the electoral machine developed by Narendra Modi, the Indian opposition united within the “India” coalition is having all the difficulty in the world to exist. Congress, the main opposition party led by Raoul Gandhi, scion of the dynasty that dominated Indian politics for decades, was unable to run a campaign worthy of the name. However, despite the obstacles that have accumulated in recent months, they continue to believe that they can still reverse the trend giving the Hindu nationalist Prime Minister the clear winner of the election.

“There is a clear and visible lack of a level playing field. Why do I say this? Because our accounts have been frozen. Even today, much of our money is still seized by the ruling party. Additionally, mainstream media is not giving us the type of coverage we should be giving to all parties“, denounces Pawan Kheira is the spokesperson of the Congress party.

“They can afford to buy all the newspapers…and they did”

It is enough to look at the front page on Wednesday April 17 of Times of India, the country’s leading English-language newspaper published the outline of the Prime Minister’s party program with the photo of Narendra Modi, with this headline “BJP resolutions“, without any further comment.”It is a party rich in resources. They can afford to buy all the papers…and they did. They therefore bought the media and we do not have the means to finance this type of campaign“, smiled Pawan Kheira nervously.

The ruling party was also accused of using the justice system to prevent opposition members from running. Several are currently behind bars. “In 95% of cases, investigations by agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation were directed against the opposition. 95% of requests! They make no complaints against those on their side. All these cases are directed against the opposition“, denounces the spokesperson.

And to those who see in Narendra Modi the providential man of India, Pawan Kheira retorts: “Two young people commit suicide every hour in this country. Two farmers commit suicide every hour in this strong country. There are four rapes every hour in this country. This is what we are fighting against. This is why we talk about justice !”

In total, 968 million Indians are called to elect the 543 members of the lower house, more than the total population of the United States, the European Union and Russia combined. The elections are being held in seven stages until June 1, with more than a million polling stations across the country.