S1E30: Singapore’s stakes in India’s election: Will polls bring a surprise?

The Straits Times Podcasts

Hear from our guest expert on Singapore’s stakes in seeing a stable government rule the world’s fifth biggest economy.

Synopsis: Join The Straits Times' senior columnist Ravi Velloor, as he distils his experience from four decades of covering the continent.

The world’s most populous nation began voting on April 19 in a seven-phase election in which nearly one billion people are eligible to vote, with ballots set to be counted on June 4.

In this episode, Ravi speaks with the political scientist Associate Professor Iqbal Singh Sevea, director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, a think-tank under the National University of Singapore.

They discuss the ongoing Indian election marked by a dip in voter turnout, the competing narratives, the improving national profile of Mr Rahul Gandhi, chances of a decisive victory for Mr Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

They also look at the need to heal wounds the election has opened in the national fabric.

Highlights (click/tap above):

3:10 Continuity vs high unemployment and inflation

8:09 Singapore’s stakes in the Indian election

15:01 Why it is not a ‘wave’ election this time

16:08 A new Rahul Gandhi?

20:38 Why women voters are key

24:01 Could polls spring a surprise?

27:25 Can India heal its wounds after the polls

Produced by: Ravi Velloor ([e-mail]) and Fa’izah Sani

Edited by: Fa’izah Sani

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Chapters

1. Singapore’s stakes in India’s election: Will polls bring a surprise? (00:00:00)

2. Continuity v unemployment, inflation (00:03:10)

3. SG's stakes in India's election (00:08:09)

4. 'Wave' election this time? (00:15:01)

5. New Rahul Gandhi? (00:16:08)

6. Why women voters are key (00:20:38)

7. Surprise in polls? (00:24:01)

8. India's wounds: Healing after polls? (00:27:25)