With India’s national elections about to kick off on April 7, politics dominates the media and private conversations alike. Most of the conversation focuses on the poll horse race, at this point heavily favoring the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win more than 200 of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament and form a coalition government. Foreign policy, however, has been largely invisible throughout this campaign cycle, except for the contributions of the two main regional parties in Tamil Nadu, which have a long-standing and special focus on Sri Lanka. Of the two main national parties, only Congress has released its official manifesto so far, putting its foreign policy platform on view for all.
The Indian Elections: What The Congress Party Has To Say About Foreign Policy
The Forbes published an article written by Alyssa Ayres, Senior Fellow for India, Pakistan, and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. The article mentions the conclusions drawn at a Gateway House discussion on Indian elections.