Leaders | The Modi juggernaut

India’s democracy needs a stronger opposition

The Congress party is set for a drubbing in the world’s biggest election

Rahul Gandhi speaks during a press conference in Ghaziabad, India on April 17th 2024
Photograph: Getty Images

Over the next six weeks nearly a billion Indians will cast their votes. If the polls are right, the general election will be a triumph for Narendra Modi, the prime minister. His Bharatiya Janata Party (bjp) will secure another big majority; he will serve a third term. For the opposition, disaster beckons. The Congress party, which led the struggle for Indian independence and dominated politics for decades afterwards, is headed for a third consecutive defeat. With luck, this will be a Schumpeterian moment that forces it to reform: the health of India’s democracy depends on it.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “An ossified opposition”

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