900 million citizens just voted in the world’s largest democracy. Arpit Chaturvedi breaks down the election.
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify.
Episode Description
India, the world’s largest democracy, voted last month in one of history’s largest elections. The results were shocking, as Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party expanded their majority in parliament in a landslide victory. Many are asking what these results mean, not only for India, but for the globe. This election seems to be the latest piece of evidence signaling the end of the liberal order, says Chaturvedi.
Arpit Chaturvedi, the CEO and co-founder of Global Policy Insights and Indian politics and policy expert, breaks down the election on Bills with Luke Scorziell. Chaturvedi and Scorziell discuss the major issues in the election, the role fake news played, and more.
Thank you to to Scott and Michelle, Mike, Julie, and Tiana for their generous support on Patreon! Head over to Patreon to learn how you can support Bills with Luke Scorziell.
India’s 2019 Election
What happened?
Narendra Modi and the BJP party, who had already held a 282 seat majority in the Indian parliament, won 303 seats in this election. As a result, Modi will enter his second term as India’s prime minister; he was originally elected in 2014. While it was projected that Modi and the BJP would maintain a majority in the parliament, many thought it impossible for them to improve upon their existing majority.
Key Quotes
“Basically you’re seeing an India which does not really have a strong opposition voice talking in the parliament.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on the BJP’s new, stronger majority in parliament
“It has never happened in India that just like a presidential race the voting is done on the face of a person rather than a party, its policy, or agendas.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi running as the heads of their respective parties
What does it mean?
Chaturvedi (and others here, here, and here, here’s a dissenting opinion for balance) believes Modi’s populist-esque message, which led to his re-election, is further evidence that citizens around the globe are rejecting the liberal order. The Prime Minister’s election has been compared to Brexit, the 2016 Election of President Trump, and several other populist victories around the world.
Key Quotes
“You can compare a similar type of leadership emerging in India, in Israel, in Russia, in Turkey, and in the United States as well. So, obviously, there is a move to the right in the world.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on the rejection of the liberal order around the world
“The liberal story is also in a major crisis, if not on the losing ground already.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on Narendra Modi’s re-election in India
Fake news through WhatsApp
The spread of false information by both parties played a major role in India’s election, specifically through WhatsApp, a messaging platform owned by Facebook. Over 200 million people in India use WhatsApp and over 50% use the service for news, according to BBC.
WhatsApp’s massive user-base led both the BJP and the National Congress to use the platform to spread their political message. For example, the BJP had plans to hire 900,000 “cell phone pramukhs” to campaign for the party by circulating video, audio, text, graphics, and cartoons in the platform’s large group chats. Much of the content shared on the messaging site was untrue. Arpit elaborates in the interview.
Key Quotes
“Definitely. Fake news had a huge, huge, huge impact this time in the elections.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on India’s 2019 election
“I’ve seen a lot of intelligent, educated people also fall prey to fake news.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on India’s fake news problem
“This time around actually there has been fake news from both the sides.” ~ Arpit Chaturvedi on the circulation of fake news from both the BJP party and the National Congress
Previous Episodes with Arpit Chaturvedi
Support Bills by Joining on Patreon!
Patreon allows fans to gain exclusive access to my show by donating just a few dollars a month. In return, fans will be rewarded with the new mailbag, stickers, and more. I have a limited supply of Unprecedented: The Election that Changed Everything (2017 Inaugural Edition). All money will go towards funding my college tuition, expanding my podcast, and making more content for you! Find out more below!
Bills with Luke Scorziell does not provide investment, tax, or legal advice or recommendations. This material is solely intended for educational purposes based on publicly available information and may change at any time. Additionally, this article’s content is a summary of the Interviewee’s comments and, while rephrased by the Author, are not from the Author himself.
Subscribe! Review! Follow!
We love reviews. If you need a little inspiration for your own check out everyone else’s here.
iTunes | Stitcher | Edge of Ideas | Twitter
About Luke Scorziell
Mr. Scorziell created The Edge of Ideas when he was 15 years old. After a few years of blogging he found a passion for podcasting and now regularly has guests on his show, Bills with Luke Scorziell. He currently writes for USC Annenberg Media and produces a weekly segment on Annenberg Radio News called “Politicking.” You can find more of his work here. Find out more about Luke and his unique journey. Feel free to send Luke a message below.
Contact
You have a great story, and I’d like to help you tell it. Fill out the form below to be a guest on Bills with Luke Scoriell.
Previous Episodes
Ep. 47: 2018 Midterm Recap: What Happened Republicans? Interview with Luis Alvarado
Ep. 46: The Silent Conservatives at the University of Southern California
Ep. 45: Luke Scorziell on the Jen and Don Show on AM 590 The Answer
Ep. 44: The Trump Tariffs with Daniel LaCalle
Ep. 43: 115 Deaths a Day: The American Opioid Epidemic with Andrew Kessler
Ep. 41: A Perpetual Israeli-Palestinian Dispute with Clifford D. May
Ep. 40: A “Culture of Death,” Rupert Darwall on Britain’s National Health Service
Ep. 39: A Movement for Liberty with Brian Nichols
Ep. 38: A World of Wonder with Jordan A. Brown
Ep. 37: Conflict in the Middle East with Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch
Ep. 35: The Second Amendment, A Right to Bear Arms?
Ep. 34: The Evolution of Blockchain with Shane Liddell
Ep. 33: The Experience Economy with Case Lawrence
Ep. 32: American Division, Tariffs, Immigration, and Guns with Michael Johns
Ep. 31: A World-Wide Tea Party with Co-Founder Michael Johns
Ep. 30: Criminal Justice Reform with Stephen Lusk
Ep. 29: The College Echo Chamber with Michael J. Hout
Ep. 28: Trump on DACA, Chain Migration, Catch and Release, and more
Ep. 27: Austin Petersen, Republican Candidate for Missouri’s Senate Seat
Ep. 25: The Rise of Bitcoin with Daniel LaCalle
Ep. 24: How to Make a Tax Bill with Arpit Chaturvedi
Ep. 23: New Laws in California and Britain’s Holiday Health Crisis
Ep. 22: An In-Depth History of Net Neutrality
Ep. 21: How the New Tax Bill Will Change Business Taxes
Ep. 20: How the New Tax Bill Will Affect You
Ep. 19: Timothy Keller, Managing Attorney of the Institute for Justice’s Arizona Office
Ep. 17 & 18: Daniel LaCalle, Author of Escape from the Central Bank Trap
Ep. 16: Countable CEO and Founder, Bart Myers
Ep. 14: Arpit Chaturvedi (Pt. 2)
Ep. 13: Arpit Chaturvedi, Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Policy Review (Pt. 1)
Ep. 12: Timothy Buck, Co-Founder of Read A Bill
Ep. 11: Privacy and Police Body Cameras Part Two
Ep. 10: Privacy and Police Body Cameras Part One
Ep 9: The Campus Free Speech Act Part 2
Ep. 8: A doctor’s perspective on school start times
Ep. 7: Giving Kids the Chance to Dream with Irena Keller
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Whenever a journalist uses the loaded word “shocking” the reader is forced to consider: Shocking” Why? To whom? Is that a valid “commentary”. The introduction of a new story or guest should never cause the reader to have such a reaction. If it was shocking to your guest, fine. Say so. I promise it was not shocking at all to a lot of other people, many of whom I read during the run-up. I look forward to listening to what I am sure will be an engaging interview.