slightly different flavors of populist conservative

It’s not “populist conservatism”. That’s minimizing media language. It’s extreme right wing demagoguery.

This specific flavor being Hindu-nationalist fascism.

And that’s the most insidious part. I’m not sure people are voting to do good in the world anymore. Some of these votes are stones thrown at someone. Like a Trump voter told me, “The whole system is rotten and he’s going to destroy it utterly so we can build anew. Things might get worse for a while before they can get better, but there’s no other way.”

I found that statement terrifying because the dude basically said he thought we needed to destroy society but he said absolutely nothing about what to build in its place.

INC (Indian National Congress) and INDIA coalition (coalition of almost all party against modi) are just not doing enough, even though they managed to unite together, there is still a lot of infighting over who will lead. As for Modi, he is still the popular candidate because even though with the general islamaphobic RSS ideology, he managed to implement some policies which is popular with people. The public perception amongst the people is that the modi government is tough with its policy and is actually doing something meaningful unlike previous governments. There is also this image among people that India is strong in the international stage due to the current foreign policies. The previous UPA (united progressive alliance led by INC) in its previous terms have managed to instill in people the belief that India under them was weak (there is some truth to it). One consistent criticism about INC and its term at lok sabha was it was always led by a person of gandhi family (not original gandhi but descendants of Jawaharlal Nehru), even the government formed in the last decade before modi came to power led by Manmohan Singh was said to be a puppet of Sonia gandhi. This is a general perception among older people in India and BJP ( Modis party) managed to weaponise this calling INC the dynasty party led by one family. Modi will continue to be relected until Uthar Pradesh (UP) which has about 80 lok sabha seat contribution is challenged seriously by the opposition. It is the heartland of hindu nationalism. In other southern Indian states, BJP and its allies are having a hard time to get lok sabha seat, but the combined contribution of the southern state is very few. The only serious opposition to modi is in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka (sometimes swings), Punjab, Rajasthan, west bengal and Delhi. I do not have hope for him losing this election but i hope they wont come to power the next term for the sake of this country. Anyway obligatory fuck BJP.

Update : It seems not everything is lost, INDIA coalition did perform well denying BJP single majority.

1. The most common response I get from Indians to why Modi is that “there’s no one else to vote for”. The other major political party, Congress, has focused primarily on maintaining power within the Gandhi dynasty, with Rahul Gandhi being its current public face. Rahul Gandhi by his own admission, is not even interested in a leadership role in Congress so he’s seen as a very weak candidate. So it’s not like Trump vs Clinton/Biden but Trump vs a bunch of low profile non-viable candidates.
2. The majority middle class in India is primarily Hindu and has benefited from Modi government policies in the last decade with improved economy, digitization, and ease of setting up and doing business. Modi has also gotten large foreign companies to set up their factories in India, providing employment and contributing to local economy. So despite the minority classes and religions losing their rights in India, it’s fairly easy for Modi to win the popular vote.
3. Modi and the BJP have a phenomenal PR machinery the likes of which I haven’t seen before. Every billboard seems to be promoting Modi and his policies. Every ad break has a Modi ad. There are multiple full page ads in national newspapers for the Modi government. There is almost a complete absence of any other political party in the ad media. You have to go really out of your way, mainly to American and British media, to get a more balanced version of events (like the murder of a Canadian separatist by the Indian government, imprisonment of journalists, preventing Amnesty International from operating in India, etc.). This combined with Modi’s active suppression of dissenting journalists means that all people hear about in India is how great Modi is and the amazing policies he’s implemented. If people are not even aware of why not to vote for Modi, there’s little reason not to.
4. I would also add that Modi’s comparison with Trump stops at his Hindu nationalist policies and suppression of minorities. Modi is disciplined and smart. There’s not a hint of philandering. He’s by no means a buffoon. His base isn’t limited to hardcore fanatics voting on single issues. He’s not an elitist sitting in an ivroy tower unfamiliar with the struggles and lives of the commons. In fact, it’s only the minorities, academics, and people on the extreme left that are most likely to not vote for him.

Isn’t the rape capital South Africa?

There is hope, Opposition managed to go from less than 80 seat in the last term to close to leading in 230 seats now. vote counting is not yet over.