‘BJP v democracy’: India’s opposition alliance cries foul as election nears

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As crackdown on opposition members appears to ramp up, analysts say 2024 election could be most one-sided in India’s history

ith less than two weeks to go before India’s election begins, Arvind Kejriwal, one of the country’s most prominent opposition leaders, would usually be out on the campaign trail. Instead,Kejriwal, who has been the chief minister of Delhi since 2015, is not the only leader from his opposition Aam Aadmi party to be locked up in Tihar. Alongside him is his former deputy chief minister, Manish Sisodia,, who has been incarcerated for more than a year.

While hundreds of such cases have been filed against opposition MPs and leaders since the BJP came to power in 2014, the recent escalation has provoked alarm about just how free and fair the election will be. Western countries, usually cautious about criticising India, have voiced concern, with the The BJP has denied any role in the arrests and cases, with Modi stating that the federal agency conducting the investigations, the Enforcement Directorate , is independent.Syed Zafar Islam, a BJP national spokesperson, called the allegations “baseless” and stressed that the ED was “completely independent” and could not bring a case unless it had sufficient evidence to show in court. “Whenever these parties are staring at defeat, they start talking about threats to democracy,” said Islam.

“The fundamental weakness of the opposition stems from the failures of our institutions to maintain their integrity and instead completely surrender to the government in power,” said Bhargava. Bhargava said that, given the wealth of the BJP compared with other parties, there was “a powerful combination of fear and money” behind these defections. “If opposition leaders can’t turn to the police or the judiciary or other institutions, then there’s little to stop them being left to rot in jail. So today, most people are trying to save their own skin.”

 

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