Bharatiya Janata Party supporters in Pune, India, hold up their phones on Nov. 12 in response to a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show their opposition to restoring Kashmir's previous special constitutional status. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)

India already has world's biggest elections. Should they be bigger?

Modi plan to sync national, state and local elections could save money but some are wary

SOUMYAJIT SAHA and KIRAN SHARMA, Nikkei staff writers

November 16, 2024 06:00 JST

PUNE, India/NEW DELHI -- Last Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's six-day campaign roadshow through the state of Maharashtra reached Pune.

Billboards on highways leading into the city of 4.4 million, normally enlisted to promote new car models and housing developments, already carried Modi's face and the emblems of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. After Modi arrived, police blocked key roads to speed his way to a college sports ground where party cadres had carefully arrayed tens of thousands of folding chairs for rallygoers.