Washington, India appears to be transitioning from a Congress-dominated system to a BJP-controlled system, but it remains to be seen whether the party can make inroads in South India, a distinguished US expert has said, Because he was involved in a debate on whether it is too heavy handing over power to a single entity could be a matter of concern for the health of democracy.
Ashley J Tellis, Tata's president of strategic affairs and senior member of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank, said that according to the latest opinion poll trends, the ruling party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to be leading for the third consecutive time. ,
If opinion polls are correct, Prime Minister Modi will be elected with enough majority to dominate politics for the next five years, Tellis said at a panel discussion on "India in Modi's third term" on Wednesday.
Alyssa Ayers, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University, and Esho Malik, partner at The Asia Group and chairman of its New Delhi-based subsidiary, were the two other panelists.
“For the longest time, India was very comfortable with what was called the Congress system.Congress dominated politics for many decades. It appears that we are now transitioning into the BJP system and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) hegemony,” Tellis said.
"We will have to wait and see what the results bring especially with regard to South India, the party can make inroads in the South," he said.
“But if we are on the verge of a change in the BJP system, do we have any reason to be concerned about the health of Indian democracy? I don't mean that I only belong to minorities etc., although that is common. But the question is about a party which has tremendous power at the Centre, which has an extraordinary mandate in terms of civil society, other organs of the government, the press etc. When you think about India's democracy five years down the line, what is the situation?" Tellis asked.Malik said that as an Indian he must admit that he is disappointed that India has never had a stable two-party system.
When Congress was dominant, other parties including BJP were insignificant. Since 2014, BJP has emerged and Congress has become a very small party today.
“As an Indian citizen and someone committed to Indian democracy, no matter which party I vote for, this is disappointing. Would like to see some competition. It keeps governments alert,” he said."Having said that, it is not just an opposition party that keeps the government or the ruling party system in check...there are other characters too," he said.
Malik said that Modi is not only popular in India today, but extremely popular.
He said, "He is the most popular prime minister I have seen in my lifetime, probably Nehar in his early 50s or something (for comparison). ...Yet he has got the support of only 10 of his current 303 MPs." Has had to change,” he said.
“He had to change them because he believed that even with extreme popularity...problems could arise.So, this is the way to offer reforms in democracy and tell the ruling party or the Prime Minister that you do not need to take some steps to compensate for the excesses. Therefore, I have full confidence that the country as a pluralistic and religious India will retain the internal spirit of debate and logic of compensation,” Malik said.
Ayres said that for some Americans and parts of the US government and US civil society organizations, the question is how India conceptualises itself, how it makes or maintains space for its minorities, freedom of expression, What does this look like, can you publicly disagree?
“I mean the kind of concerns that you see people raising should be concerns for Indian citizens as well.If you criticize the liberal party, will there be repercussions, these are the same kinds of concerns you hear in the United States,'' he said.
Ashley J Tellis, Tata's president of strategic affairs and senior member of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank, said that according to the latest opinion poll trends, the ruling party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to be leading for the third consecutive time. ,
If opinion polls are correct, Prime Minister Modi will be elected with enough majority to dominate politics for the next five years, Tellis said at a panel discussion on "India in Modi's third term" on Wednesday.
Alyssa Ayers, dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University, and Esho Malik, partner at The Asia Group and chairman of its New Delhi-based subsidiary, were the two other panelists.
“For the longest time, India was very comfortable with what was called the Congress system.Congress dominated politics for many decades. It appears that we are now transitioning into the BJP system and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) hegemony,” Tellis said.
"We will have to wait and see what the results bring especially with regard to South India, the party can make inroads in the South," he said.
“But if we are on the verge of a change in the BJP system, do we have any reason to be concerned about the health of Indian democracy? I don't mean that I only belong to minorities etc., although that is common. But the question is about a party which has tremendous power at the Centre, which has an extraordinary mandate in terms of civil society, other organs of the government, the press etc. When you think about India's democracy five years down the line, what is the situation?" Tellis asked.Malik said that as an Indian he must admit that he is disappointed that India has never had a stable two-party system.
When Congress was dominant, other parties including BJP were insignificant. Since 2014, BJP has emerged and Congress has become a very small party today.
“As an Indian citizen and someone committed to Indian democracy, no matter which party I vote for, this is disappointing. Would like to see some competition. It keeps governments alert,” he said."Having said that, it is not just an opposition party that keeps the government or the ruling party system in check...there are other characters too," he said.
Malik said that Modi is not only popular in India today, but extremely popular.
He said, "He is the most popular prime minister I have seen in my lifetime, probably Nehar in his early 50s or something (for comparison). ...Yet he has got the support of only 10 of his current 303 MPs." Has had to change,” he said.
“He had to change them because he believed that even with extreme popularity...problems could arise.So, this is the way to offer reforms in democracy and tell the ruling party or the Prime Minister that you do not need to take some steps to compensate for the excesses. Therefore, I have full confidence that the country as a pluralistic and religious India will retain the internal spirit of debate and logic of compensation,” Malik said.
Ayres said that for some Americans and parts of the US government and US civil society organizations, the question is how India conceptualises itself, how it makes or maintains space for its minorities, freedom of expression, What does this look like, can you publicly disagree?
“I mean the kind of concerns that you see people raising should be concerns for Indian citizens as well.If you criticize the liberal party, will there be repercussions, these are the same kinds of concerns you hear in the United States,'' he said.
