Millions of people in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will vote to choose their next governments on Friday in a major test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the next year’s national elections.
The world’s largest democracy of 1.4 billion people has a federal structure, with citizens picking state legislators in regional polls, while the Prime Minister is elected in the national elections.
The central state of Madhya Pradesh is a stronghold of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, which has governed there for more than 18 years.
However, opinion polls have predicted a close race between the Hindu-nationalist BJP and the Indian National Congress, the main opposition party.
More than 59 million people will cast votes for about 2,500 candidates in the state across 230 seats.
The elections are crucial for Mr Modi and his party’s fate as the victory is seen as a prelude to next year’s general elections, when nearly 950 million citizens will cast vote for the country’s next leader.
"I am confident that voters from every region of the state [Madhya Pradesh] will vote enthusiastically to mark this great festival of democracy. My special greetings to all the youth of the state who are voting for the first time in this election," Mr Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter, in Hindi.
He has been campaigning extensively across the state for months.
In the eastern state of Chhattisgarh, voters will cast their ballot in the second phase of elections where Congress is in power. Chief Minister Bhupendra Baghel governs the state.
The first phase took place on November 7.
Congress defeated the BJP in the state in 2018, putting an end to the 15-year rule of Mr Modi's party.
Chhattisgarh is a crucial state as it is home to indigenous tribes.
Congress is banking on its popular development model, which includes loan waivers for farmers. Under this programme, the repayment of government funds lent to small and marginal farmers for agriculture and irrigation purposes can be waived in case of distress, poor monsoon rains or natural disasters that affect yield.
Congress has also promoted welfare initiatives to increase education opportunities, improve health centres and procure forest produce from tribal people.
A total of 958 candidates are contesting 70 seats.
The BJP has accused Mr Baghel’s government of corrupt recruitment practices in which he is alleged to have appointed relatives and close aides of politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen to senior government positions.
Two other states – Rajasthan and Telangana – are scheduled to hold elections at the end of the month.
While Rajasthan is ruled by Congress, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, a regional party, is in power in Telangana.
The five pillars of Islam
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
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The five pillars of Islam
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
