Indian Election Coverage

The Indian general elections are right around the corner (April 16), with over 700 million people expected to participate. However, an op-ed in The Times argues that due to the existence of "criminality" throughout many Indian politicial parties, the populace's best option is the current government, despite its "general ineptness on security and defence, [and the fact that] terrorism has risen steadily, culminating in the Mumbai attacks late last year." The Times of India reports that the reliance on minor parties to form coalition governments and the existence of too many parties in the electoral process has hurt Indian democracy. In another story, the opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has refused to drop Varun Gandhi, after he reportedly made derogotory remarks about Muslims. BBC News reports that the Indian Election Commission has suggested that BJP drop Gandhi.