[India famously came to
Russia’s defense in its recent standoff with Ukraine, placing itself directly
counter to American foreign policy. The group of nations known as Brics –
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – consist of a potential diplomatic counterweight to Western
nations.]
By Nida Najar
Over the past few
days, he has taken to Twitter to thank foreign leaders for their support, but
the order in which he thanked them and one notable omission, later rectified,
was more interesting than the content of the tweets themselves.
On Friday, after Prime
Minister David Cameron of Britain was one of the first Western leaders to congratulate
Mr. Modi on his victory via Twitter, Mr. Modi responded with gratitude:
On Sunday, he thanked
the prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper.
Then the president and
past and current prime ministers of Nepal were given thanks for their kind
wishes.
Then, onto Russia and
a leader that Mr. Modi, with his authoritarian style and penchant for flouting
public opinion, has often been compared.
India famously came to
Russia’s defense in its recent standoff with Ukraine, placing itself directly
counter to American foreign policy. The group of nations known as Brics –
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – consist of a potential diplomatic counterweight to Western
nations.
Mr. Modi then thanked
the prime minister of Japan, a country that Mr. Modi courted as chief minister
of Gujarat and one that could be a crucial partner as part of India’s Look East
policy engaging with East Asia. Japanese companies have already invested heavily in Gujarat.
On to President Jacob
Zuma of South Africa, President François Hollande of France, Chancellor
Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain, all of
whom congratulated him on his victory on Monday, according to Mr. Modi.
As the list of nations
grew throughout the India day, the leader of the biggest Western power, President
Obama, began to look more and more like the kid who was picked last for teams
during recess.
The silence
underscored what will be uncomfortable diplomatic theater in the weeks and
months to come. The United States refused to issue Mr. Modi a visa in 2005
as a response to his alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. As Mr. Modi’s star
rose in the past year, American leaders reached out, but a thaw on Mr. Modi’s side has
been almost imperceptible.
Relations between the
United States and India have also been tense this past year over the treatment
of an Indian consular worker in New York, Devyani Khobragade, who was charged
with visa fraud.
Mr. Obama called Mr. Modi on Friday to congratulate
him on his victory and to offer an invitation to visit Washington at a
“mutually agreeable time,” which would presumably be after the United States
grants Mr. Modi a visa.
At long last, after
Mr. Modi thanked the prime ministers of Fiji and New Zealand, he finally got
around to Mr. Obama:
[The Bharatiya Janata Party swept all three parliamentary
seats in this southern Indian city, crushing the two executives as well as
several other candidates. Mr. Nilekani, of the Indian National Congress, who
most recently headed the Indian government’s biometric identity program, was
routed by the B.J.P.’s five-time winner, Ananth Kumar. Mr. Balakrishnan,
a candidate for the new Aam Aadmi Party, was defeated by the incumbent B.J.P.
lawmaker, P.C. Mohan, and took third place in the contest in Bangalore Central.]
By Saritha Rai
BANGALORE – Nandan Nilekani and V. Balakrishnan, the two
high-profile former Infosys executives who ran for parliamentary seats in the
information technology hub of Bangalore, styled themselves as professionals who
knew how to get things done in the hopes of appealing to young voters who were
clamoring for change.
News and analysis on the world’s
largest election.
Bangalore’s
young indeed sought change, but what many were seeking was not a new technocrat
but a strong leader who promised development.
The
Bharatiya Janata Party swept all three parliamentary seats in this southern
Indian city, crushing the two executives as well as several other candidates.
Mr. Nilekani, of the Indian National Congress, who most recently headed the
Indian government’s biometric identity program, was routed by the B.J.P.’s
five-time winner, Ananth Kumar. Mr. Balakrishnan, a candidate for the new
Aam Aadmi Party, was defeated by the incumbent B.J.P. lawmaker, P.C. Mohan, and
took third place in the contest in Bangalore Central.
Two
distinguished women who contested in Bangalore South, the child rights activist
Nina Nayak of the Aam Aadmi Party and the civil rights campaigner Ruth Manorama
of a local party, were also trounced.
Many young
voters in Bangalore said they had chosen the B.J.P. because of its leader,
Narendra Modi, drawn by his promise of a stable government and better
governance.
“He spoke
about issues that mattered to us,” said Abhishekam Swamy, 29, a software
engineer with the Indian unit of a multinational company. Mr. Swamy said
he and his friends hoped for a better India, an improved economy and a healthy
job market.
India needs
12 million new jobs every year, and the last five years have been disastrous
for the country, said Mr. Balakrishnan, the Bangalore Central contestant.
“They see Mr. Modi as a messiah coming to deliver jobs.”
Bangalore
could well be a microcosm for the country’s young voters in an election where a
record 120 million people registered to vote for the first time.
Voters in
Bangalore were spoiled for choice by an array of candidates like Mr. Nilekani
and Mr. Balakrishnan, who came from middle-class beginnings and enjoyed success
in business. Given their technology backgrounds, both candidates crunched
data, targeted voters and used social networks in their campaigns.
However,
many younger Bangalore voters were swayed by Mr. Modi’s personality. “He
has the aura of a leader and his development record in Gujarat speaks for
itself,” said Reshma Lobo, 30, a software professional. “He is said to be a bit
of a dictator but perhaps that is what our country needs at this time –
somebody who can stand his ground and get things done.”
Though the
data in Bangalore appeared to show that just over half of the city’s total
voters cast ballots, less than the national average of 66 percent, the
enthusiasm among young voters was visible on social networks.
“The peer
pressure spilled over to social networks; everybody showed off their inked
fingers and boasted about voting for a change,” said Sundaresh G., 31, a
project manager at a telecom multinational who voted in the Bangalore South
constituency.
Politics
was never a topic for discussion among teenagers until this election, said
Sneha Balakrishnan, 18, a student of the National Public School in the
Rajajinagar neighborhood who is also the daughter of the former Infosys
executive and Aam Aadmi candidate.
Ms.
Balakrishnan, said political change came up often in conversations. “My friends
were talking about elections bringing a ray of hope,” she said.
The quality
of candidates in the city was better than ever before, said Aditya Rao, 26, a
business analyst at a multinational firm. “There were plenty of sensible,
honest, smart people with the right intent,” he said. But voters
ultimately chose somebody they thought could do the job.
Young
voters wanted a stable government in Delhi to replace the dysfunctional one of
the last five years, said Mr. Balakrishnan. “People were fed up and voted
for the promise of growth,” he said.
Mr.
Nilekani and Mr. Balakrishnan conceded defeat early Friday but said they were
in politics for the long run.
Mr.
Nilekani said he would continue to advocate Brand Bangalore and would donate
funds to set up a nonprofit that would work on issues like public transport and
drinking water.
Mr.
Balakrishnan, too, said he would immerse himself in development work in the
city. “By continuing, I want to change young people’s perception about
politicians,” he said.
