The Guardian view on India’s election: Narendra Modi’s audacity of hate | Editorial

India's prime minister encourages a belief in his divinity, leading followers to think it is God's purpose to spread fear and loathing

No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic." So reads the rulebook for Indian elections. Has anyone told Narendra Modi? India's prime minister has resorted to overtly Islamophobic language during the two-month campaign, painting India's 200 million Muslims as an existential threat to the Hindu majority. Laughably, the body charged with conducting free and fair polls did issue a feeble call for restraint from star campaigners". With the Indian election results out next week, one commentator warned Mr Modi has put a target on Indian Muslims' backs, redirecting the anger of poor and marginalised Hindu communities away from crony capitalists and the privileged upper castes".

Mr Modi's tirades are meant to distract an electorate suffering from high inflation and a lack of jobs despite rapid economic growth. His Bharatiya Janata party's political strategy is to emphasise threats to Hindu civilisation, and the need for a united Hindu nation against Muslims. However, Mr Modi has fused this Hindu nationalism with the idea that he was sent by God. The Congress party's Rahul Gandhi, his main opponent, suggested that anyone else making such a claim needed to see a psychiatrist.

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