NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged on Sunday to increase social spending, develop infrastructure and turn India into a global industrial hub as companies move away from China, as he revealed his Hindu nationalist party’s electoral strategy.
Modi hopes to return to power for a third five-year term. He and other Bharatiya Janata Party leaders unveiled their pledges in the world’s largest democracy, days before the start of a multi-phase general election.
Modi has promised to expand social programs introduced during his party’s 10-year rule, including millions of free homes for the poor, along with free healthcare, cooking gas and cereals. His government has been paying 6,000 rupees ($73) a year to poor farmers.
He said his government’s policies had lifted 250 million people out of poverty since he came to power in 2014. India is the most populous country in the world, with more than 1.4 billion people. BJP president JP Nadda said less than 1% of the Indian population now lives in extreme poverty.
India holds elections on different days in different parts of the country for weeks. Voting for the country’s parliament will begin on April 19 and run until June 1, with results announced on June 4.
Most polls predicted a victory for Modi and the BJP. But the opposition Congress Party argues that Modi has undermined India’s democracy and favored the interests of the rich.
Modi has campaigned extensively across the country, promising to expand India’s economy to $5 billion by 2027, up from about $3.7 billion. He also promises to put India on track to become a developed country by 2047, when the country celebrates 100 years of independence from British colonialists.
On Sunday, he said his party would develop India as a hub for the pharmaceutical, energy, semiconductor and tourism industries. He also said that India will modernize its infrastructure, including railways, airways and waterways. And he said he will look to increase youth employment and access to cheap loans for young entrepreneurs.
Modi is very popular in India, where he is considered a supporter of the country’s Hindu majority and has overseen rapid economic growth.
But critics say another term for the BJP could undermine India’s status as a secular, democratic nation, saying its 10 years in power have brought attacks by Hindu nationalists against the country’s minorities, especially Muslims, and a space every decline for dissent and freedom of the press.
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