India Decides: Making Sense of the 2019 General Elections

NEW YORK, May 29, 2019 — Last week, Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won India's general election by a resounding margin. What does this mean for the country? Kanchan Chandra, Menaka Guruswamy, Tanvi Madan, and Milan Vaishnav discuss the implications of Modi's victory at Asia Society. Robert Jenkins served as moderator. (1 hr., 23 min.)

[WriterSoumyaMitra]

They are more worried why congress lost!! As usual...
However, Jai Shri Ram!! 🚩🚩

[shreevatsarao]

I didnt see a single counter view in the panel so is this fair debate ???

[physicsstudygroup]

Jobs: There are 4.18 crore documented beneficiaries of Mudra loans, to create small businesses to name just one program.Each speaker ignores and glosses over this fact. Even formal sector jobs have seen continuous improvement. EPFO payroll data confirms this fact.

[shashanksuman]

How will you "Make sense of 2019 the General elections", when 2 out of the 4 panelists are able to perfectly articulate Congress's point of view and none to explain BJP's point of view? one of the factors why NDA won can be analysed by overlaying the electoral map of 2019 elections over the map of number of new electricity connections given to rural households over the past 2 years. 26.32 million rural households were electrified since 11-Oct-2017.

[kishantomar]

U guys are absolutely wrong what u people refer to secularism is the idea of Muslim appeasing but as of now BJP is treating everyone as equal.. Muslims in India is not minority instead they are second largest majority u guys need to get your facts right because our founding fathers never included secular as a core point in constitution but it was Indira Gandhi who added secularism by 42nd amendment... India's founding fathers wanted India to be a Hindu country which can accommodate minorities and everyone should be governed by a uniform civil laws but u guys and your agenda alas....

[srebalanandasivam]

Hindus have risen above caste and are awakening to their glorious past. A resurgent Hindu India is breaking the shackles of the post colonial hangover... We in our millions will vote Modi again and again, even in 2024 ad

[sandeepdas]

I object to Ms Kanchan Chandra's statement that "India was created on 1947" . India/Bharat existed for thousands of years! It was not CREATED on 1947!!

[nirmallaungani]

Indira Gandhi amended constitution plenty of times, so what is the problem if BJP does it?
Secularism just came in 1976

[Manish_Kumar_Singh]

It's like these guys wrote Congress manifesto.

Anyway, Bjp Jai sia ram
Congress ram nam Satya hai

[giannisingh]

Kanchan has to define secularism ???? Your favourite Mamta is prro muslim, is that secularism

[Manish_Kumar_Singh]

2 uncles
2 aunties
1 confusing human

[thisisanewusername]

these people are absolutely ignorant about indian culture, history, civilization.

[rdnyansagar]

These "Analysts" still don't understand why BJP won? and that's why they are more focusing on Why Congress lost? These analysts should first understand the fundamentals of elections. Do a better job people..

[candyman]

You guys are delusional. AC-room analysts far away from ground realities. Carry on your rant :)

[physicsstudygroup]

The Constituent Assembly, in 1949, unequivocally rejected the idea of Secularism and Socialism, totally.

[nirmallaungani]

Tanvi Madan sort of diverted the question that was put forward, namely are these arm chair intellectuals mistaken about the Indian elections by looking at BJP and Modi from western lens of secularism and appeasement of minorities. The answer given by her and by Kanchan Chandra were ABSOLUTELY SILLY. It is not the topic here to be discussing on what is Hinduism, but I would suggest Kanchan to read on Hinduism not from the likes of Wendy Doniger or Sheldon Pollock but from scholars like Rajiv Malhotra through his books "BEING DIFFERENT" and "INDRA'S NET". So also though Walter Anderson has his flaws, as an outsider glancing over the RSS, he is far better placed than people like Sitaram Yechury
But the point is what has using western modes of communication and clothes got to do with the message one is trying to convey. I have always seen Zakir Naik dress in a business suit but always full of abuse of what represents Western / American culture
The question was whether appeasement and secularism are relevant to India, and to look at them as among the key factors of a resounding BJP victory

[soumyakantaskp]

These so-called experts r giving analysis of India without even giving to the village once.

[nirmallaungani]

If you want to see where lynchings take place in big numbers, look to Indonesia or Brazil. India has very few such cases despite what armchair intellectuals would say

[nirmallaungani]

EQUALITY AND RESPECT TO ALL ARE CORE HINDU / INDIAN BELIEFS

[physicsstudygroup]

And no, the Supreme Court does not have the authority to lay down what is the basic structure of the Constitution. that power and authority, rests, solely and completely with the people of India, and not the judiciary.