Experts: Modi's election win likely due to Hindu nationalism

India is holding the world's largest election in which nearly one billion people are eligible to vote, with ballots due to be counted on June 4.

Despite ongoing public doubts over the ruling government, experts say that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is seeking a rare third successive term, is still highly likely to win due to his popularity fueled by Hindu nationalism, a political ideology that has become dominant in India over the past decade.

Hindu nationalism determines Modi likely to win

Hindu nationalism, which dates back to the 19th century, promotes the hegemony of Hinduism in India and the establishment of the country as a Hindu, rather than secular, state.

Since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, led by Modi, Hindu nationalism has come to dominate the Indian political landscape.

"Many Hindu nationalist policies Modi adopted over the past decade had created a full-fledged Hindu-nationalism atmosphere in India," Lin Minwang, an expert on South Asia studies and associate dean of the Institute of International Studies at China's Fudan University, told CGTN.

Noting Hindu nationalism has actually become the mainstream ideology in Indian society, Lin said that, "In a certain sense, Hindu nationalism has determined that Modi is still likely to remain in power in this year's general election."

A major opinion poll in early April predicted that the BJP and its allies could win three-fourths of Parliament's 543 seats on the back of Modi's popularity, India's economic growth, and the inauguration of a Hindu temple on a contested site in the Hindu-majority country.

"In the narrative discourse crafted by the BJP, Modi has achieved what past Indian prime ministers have struggled to achieve in the two very different dimensions: India's rise and the revival of Hindu traditions," Zhang Shujian, assistant researcher at the Institute of South Asian Studies of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said in a commentary to the Chinese magazine "Globe."

"It is no exaggeration that Modi's personal clout has transcended the traditional competition of political parties," said Zhang.

Indians lack opportunity to find alternative to Modi

Though uniting the majority of the country's population, Modi's Hindu nationalist policies have also been criticized for provoking a social split and ethnic inequality.

About 80 percent of India's 1.4 billion people are Hindus but it also has the world's third largest Muslim population of roughly 200 million people.

Muslims in India and other minority groups say they often face discrimination and attacks, and have been forced to live as "second-class" citizens under Modi's rule. The claims were denied by the BJP.

Many policies issued by Modi's government were opposed by Muslims, such as ending federal support for Muslim schools, and granting nationality to Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India due to religious persecution from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

In January, Modi led the consecration of a grand temple to the Hindu God-king, which many Hindus believe was built over a demolished Muslim temple. The move was hailed by the country's Hindus, but angered Indian Muslims.

During the election campaign, the BJP's major rivals, an alliance of more than two dozen opposition parties, including main rival Congress, highlighted problems they say are caused by Modi's government, including inequality between Hindus and other ethnic groups, high unemployment among young people, and India's tendency towards "autocracy."

But according to Zhang, because the BJP intensified control over Parliament and the suppression of opposition parties during its rule, as well as the fact that each party prioritizes the interests of its own constituency and voters, it is difficult for the opposition alliance to make concerted efforts.

Due to multiple factors, Indians lack the incentive and opportunity to find an alternative to Modi, Zhang added.