France Press agency
The last day of the general elections in India, in stifling heat
India on Saturday ended a six-week long general election process, amid a heatwave, in the spiritual capital of Hinduism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stronghold of his nationalist campaign. A third term for the prime minister is the most likely outcome, thanks in large part to his image as a fierce defender of India's majority religion. The results are expected on Tuesday, and the opposition has accused Modi of making statements that denigrate Muslims and inflame interfaith tensions in the middle of the electoral process. The 73-year-old minister's constituency in the north of the country is the spiritual capital of Hinduism, and the place where worshipers come. From all over India to cremate their deceased loved ones on the banks of the Ganges. It was one of the last cities where voters cast their ballots, after an organized electoral process, often in extreme heat. Offices close at 6:30 PM local time (Indian Standard Time), or 1:00 PM GMT. The votes are scheduled to be counted on Tuesday, but opinion polls are expected to give some indication of who will win. The temperature on Saturday reached 45 degrees, a temperature that many cities have already exceeded in recent days. “It's already very hot,” says Chinta Devi, who arrived to vote at 8 a.m. She told Agence France-Presse that ten election officials in the state of Bihar (east) were killed on Thursday while preparing polling stations in the Hindu city that was suffering from extreme heat, “and the streets and markets were empty.” 'Feeling proud' – Varanasi is the city where public support for the policy of closer Hindu relations with the government, led by Mr Modi, is strongest. “It is clear that Modi is winning,” Vijayendra Kumar Singh, who works at one of the many hotels at this popular pilgrimage site, told AFP. “There is a sense of pride in everything he does, which is why people vote for him.” Its appeal to Hindu voters. This year, he grandly inaugurated a grand temple dedicated to the god Rama in Ayodhya on the site previously occupied by a centuries-old mosque that was destroyed by Hindu fanatics in 1992. The construction of the temple, long demanded by promoters of Hinduism, was celebrated across the country. , through live broadcasts and street parties. This inauguration, along with many other signals in favor of India's majority religion over the past decade, has raised concerns among the Muslim minority, which numbers more than 200 million people. Narendra Modi himself made controversial statements towards Muslims during his election campaign, calling them “infiltrators.” He also accused the opposition coalition, formed by more than twenty parties from various parties, of wanting to redistribute India's wealth to Muslims. Janesar Akhtar, a Muslim garment manufacturer from Varanasi, believes that the BJP's nationalist campaign aims to divert attention from the country's unemployment problems. “Workshops are closing here and the Modi government is busy with the politics of temples and mosques,” the 44-year-old told AFP. Analysts had long been counting on Modi to win over the opposition alliance, and he did not nominate a candidate for the position of prime minister. Several legal investigations have been opened against his opponents and a tax investigation led this year to the freezing of the bank accounts of the Congress, India's largest opposition party, consolidating his dominance. Western democracies have largely turned a blind eye to threats against rights and freedoms in the country. In order to remain a valuable ally in the face of China's increasingly aggressive tendencies, Narendra Modi's image in his country has been boosted by the growing diplomatic and economic influence of India, which overtook Britain as the world's fifth-largest economy in 2013. Shikha Agarwal, 40, told AFP. On leaving the polling station on Saturday: “As an Indian, I feel that he brought a lot of respect and prestige to India during his tenure.” My country,” says Brijesh Taksali, before adding, “There is only one leader I know… Narendra Modi. “I voted for him.” Indian voters voted in seven phases over six weeks to ease the massive logistical process of organizing elections in the world's most populous country. abh/gle/pbt/lgo/emp/ia/cls
