Long-term Implications of India’s 2019 General Elections – Part 1 (6 Jun 2019)

Professor Walter Andersen, Dr Sinderpal Singh, Dr Amitendu Palit

20190606

About the Panel Discussion   Held over six weeks, the Indian general elections concluded in May 2019 with a resounding victory for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).   As in 2014, the BJP turned the 2019 elections into a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, unlike 2014, Modi did not primarily campaign on the issue of vikas (development) nor did he focus much on his government’s track record. Instead, he emphasised, among other things, national security in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent air strike on Pakistan. The 2019 elections campaign was also the most coarse and personal in recent times.   The panel will closely analyse the outcome of the elections and look ahead to several critical issues. First, how will the new government engage with the region, particularly Pakistan and China, and the world? Second, what direction will it take on the economy, especially on issues like job creation and the agrarian crisis? Third, what will be the long-term implications of religious nationalism and intolerance on Indian democracy and secularism?   Introductory Remarks Ambassador Gopinath Pillai Chairman, Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS; and Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore   Chairperson Dr Ronojoy Sen Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead (Politics, Society & Governance) Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS   Panellists Professor Walter Andersen Senior Adjunct Professor of South Asia Studies School of Advanced International Studies Johns Hopkins University, United States   Dr Sinderpal Singh Head, South Asia Programme S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Nanyang Technological University   Dr Amitendu Palit Senior Research Fellow; and Research Lead (Trade & Economics) Institute of South Asian Studies, NUS