india | Resumption of legislative elections against a backdrop of criminal investigations targeting Modi’s rivals

(New Delhi) The main rivals of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who have accused him of having unfairly attacked them by exploiting justice, must vote on Saturday in the capital New Delhi during the legislative elections.

The outgoing head of government, 73, who remains very popular after a decade in power and his party, the Bharatiya Janata (BJP), should win this national election which lasts six weeks for the third time in a row.

His prospects of victory are all the greater as various investigations target his opponents, raising concerns from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk and rights groups about the fairness of the ballot.

Arvind Kejriwal, 55, chief minister of Delhi and one of the leaders of the opposition INDIA alliance – with Rahul Gandhi at the head of the Congress party – formed to compete with Mr Modi in these elections, was released on May 10 after being detained for several weeks in connection with a financial crime case.

The Supreme Court freed him two weeks ago and he returned to campaigning, urging Indians to vote against what he called an emerging “dictatorship.”

“Modi will send all opposition leaders to prison,” he warned shortly after his release from prison.

Mr. Kejriwal is due to vote in Delhi on Saturday with Rahul Gandhi, whose Congress party spearheads the opposition alliance of more than twenty parties allied against Mr. Modi.

Mr. Gandhi, 53, scion of a dynasty of Indian prime ministers, was found guilty of defamation last year after a complaint filed by a member of the head of government’s party.

“Red alert” heatwave

His two-year prison sentence made him ineligible for parliament until this court ruling was stayed by a higher court.

In February, authorities froze several Congress party bank accounts as part of an ongoing dispute over tax returns filed five years ago, a move that Rahul Gandhi said had seriously affected the ability of his party to stand for election.

“We have no money to campaign, we cannot support our candidates,” he told journalists in March.

Political opponents and international rights advocates have long warned about the shrinking democratic space in India.

The US think tank Freedom House said this year that the BJP had “increasingly used government institutions to target its political opponents”.

India is voting in seven phases over six weeks to cope with the immense logistical burden of organizing elections in the world’s most populous country where more than 968 million voters are expected to vote.

The last round of legislative elections will take place on 1^er June and results should be provided three days later.

Turnout is down several percentage points from the last national vote in 2019, with analysts attributing this to the general expectation of a Modi victory as well as higher-than-average temperatures in the approach of summer.

A heatwave “red alert” was issued this week for Delhi and surrounding states, where tens of millions of people are expected to vote on Saturday.

Temperatures are expected to reach 44C and weather services have warned of increased health risks for infants, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses.

Scientific research shows that climate change is causing longer, more frequent and more intense heat waves, with Asia warming faster than the global average.