Narendra Modi’s party takes a beating in Karnataka
South Indians are unimpressed by the prime minister’s charisma and his party’s divisiveness
Narendra Modi was anxious to retain power in Karnataka. In the week before the affluent southern state’s assembly election on May 10th, India’s prime minister addressed 19 public rallies and six road shows across it. Keeping a “double engine” of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, at the state and centre, he argued, was the best way to preserve Karnataka’s booming economy—which has seen average annual growth of nearly 8% over the past decade.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Modi blues”
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