Narendra Modi has made India more important globally than any other recent leader. He just got elected for a third time as prime minister. He’s made India and its growing economy very important in issues like climate change and development. He’s also made India a big security partner for the United States and wants India to be a leader in the Global South.
Modi’s win means he and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will have five more years to make India even more important globally. They’ll also have to handle tricky relationships and border issues with China and Pakistan, both countries with nuclear weapons.
The election results put Modi in a very different position than before.
He and his party didn’t win as many seats as expected, so they have to work with other parties to form a government. This is a big change for Modi, who used to have a strong hold on power.
Many people see this as a surprise and a setback for Modi and the BJP. Critics say they’ve fueled religious tensions and taken away people’s freedoms. They also haven’t fixed big problems like high unemployment.
Now, Modi will have to spend more time dealing with issues at home to keep the government together. This might mean he can’t focus as much on making India a big player on the world stage.
Politics of power :
One thing that probably won’t change in Modi’s new term is India’s relationship with the United States. This connection has made Modi look like a powerful leader.
India has become an important partner for the US, especially in security. They’re part of a security group called the Quad with Japan and Australia. They also work together on technology and defense because they’re both worried about China becoming more powerful.
US President Joe Biden congratulated Modi on his win and said the friendship between the US and India is getting stronger.
Analysts think this relationship will keep getting stronger. They both care about stability in the region and are working together more on defense. India will probably become even more closely aligned with US interests in the Indo-Pacific region and cooperate more on technology.
In recent years, the relationship between New Delhi and Washington has become friendlier. However, India under Modi’s leadership still wants to keep its independence and not rely too much on the US or get caught up in the US-China rivalry. India still wants to have good relations with Russia, even though the US wants its partners to stop working with Russia.
But there are concerns about Modi’s leadership in America. Many worry about the decreasing freedoms in India under Modi’s right-wing government. There are also accusations that Modi’s party, the BJP, is trying to make life harder for the Muslim minority in India.
India has also faced accusations of getting involved in things outside its borders. Canada is looking into claims that India had something to do with the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader. India got angry at Canada for this accusation. The US also said an Indian agent was involved in a murder plot targeting an American Sikh activist. India denied this and started an investigation.
India: What’s Different?
After Modi’s tough win in the election, experts are curious to see if the new government will become more aggressive or calm down in its actions that affect India’s relationships with its South Asian neighbors.
They’re concerned because Hindu nationalism in the past ten years has not only caused division and violence within India but also created tension in the region, especially with Pakistan, which often faces criticism from the BJP.
Now, Modi’s BJP will have to consider the interests of its allies in the coalition and face stronger opposition, which might stop some of its Hindu-nationalist plans. It will take time to see how the BJP changes its policies and language based on this new political situation.
Sushant Singh, who teaches at Yale University in the US, says if things go back to normal politics, there might be less aggressive behavior. But if the BJP wants to keep its nationalist supporters happy, it might do the opposite and become more aggressive. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Some experts think that the BJP’s reaction could also be influenced by their weaker position this term. They remember that Modi’s big win in 2019 happened after tensions rose with Pakistan.
Back then, India said it attacked a terrorist training camp in Pakistan after a bombing killed Indian soldiers. But Pakistan disputed this.
The BJP uses the idea of Pakistan as a threat to bring together its core supporters, who believe that India is mainly for Hindus. Fahd Humayun, a professor at Tufts University in the US, says that when the BJP feels cornered, they might exaggerate external threats to get support from people inside India.
Now that Modi’s position is weaker, he might also feel pressured to react strongly to anything that seems like a threat from China.
Even though Modi has avoided big fights with China, some people think he’s been too soft. They criticized him for not responding strongly enough to deadly clashes along the border in 2020.
Leaders around the world will keep an eye on how these issues develop in the next few months.
Some experts say that even though the election results might not have made Modi stronger, they’ve helped India look more important globally.
Paul, the author and a professor at McGill University in Canada, says that democracy is India’s biggest strength. If people see India as a strong democracy again, it could improve India’s image in liberal countries.
“It’s good for the world order if India is a strong democracy again,” he says. “But it all depends on how Modi handles things.”