Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, Head of the Foreign Affairs, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a dialogue in the International Institute for Strategic Studies on 'India’s Election results and the way forward' on Friday 28 June 2019, told the audience that by 2024 he is hoping that the Indian government will have proxy voting available for Non Residential Indians (NRIs), who cannot travel to India to vote.
He said, “For NRI voting, there are two steps. People have already registered themselves, which is the first step. However there are some logistical hurdles when it comes to voting. It is not possible for 1.5mn Indians living in the UK to queue in front of the Indian High Commission to vote. Therefore the only option for them is proxy voting. The guidelines will be issued by Election Commission and by 2024 there will be a way to vote at the Indian General Elections 'in abstentia'.”
When asked about India-Pakistan relationship and possibility of a future dialogue between the two nations, he reiterated what External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar recently said, calling it 'unlikely' unless there is a 'tangible action' against terrorist groups arising from that country. Dr Chauthawaile added, “We are looking for friendly relation with all our neighbouring countries. But unless there a tangible action against terrorist outfits in Pakistan, nothing will happen. BJP as a political party does not have an ideological compulsion to talk to Pakistan.”
He also admitted that the strike on a terrorist camp in Pakistan's Balakot area earlier this year, in response to the Pulwama attack "played out in favour of the BJP" during the general election. He added, that a non-action on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's part could have "adversely affected" the results. He also dedicated the party's success to government's development agenda, which according to him has "really transformed lives" and resulted in a "cascading impact" in favor of Mr Modi.
Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, IISS Senior Fellow for South Asia, highlighted that the think tank's analysis ahead of the Indian election results was among the few western organisations to predict the return of Modi government with such majority.
Shishir Bajoria, Member of the Core Committee of the Overseas Friends of the BJP; Member of the BJP’s Election Management Committee of West Bengal; and past President of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata gave an analysis of the big win by the BJP in the eastern state. He emphasised that personality driven politics is leading to the downfall of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. In an exclusive statement, he told Asian Voice, “Politics in West Bengal does not change that quickly. CP(I)M came after 30 years of Congress rule and TMC after 34 years of CP(I)M rule. Unless people of Bengal are convinced a party can deliver, they won't vote for it. BJP's considerable success in Bengal is driven by this faith and promises of development.”
