The associate professor of political science and policy studies traces the evolution of elections in India for a UK-based academic association and explores the implications of the Bharatiya Janata Party's historic win at the polls on May 16, 2014.
[/caption]Associate Professor Jason Kirk in the Department of Political Science and Policy Studies authored a “Political Insight” blog post on May 18, 2014, for the Political Studies Association international academic organization.
“India 2014: A Big Election’s Biggest Stories” shared Kirk’s knowledge and perspective on the largest democratic election in the world’s history. Nearly 815 million Indians voted in their nation’s general election just two days prior to Kirk’s post, bringing to power the Bharatiya Janata Party with a leader who since 2005 has been denied a visa to the United States.
However, 63-year-old Narendra Modi‘s “clean” image and economic achievements of the state where he took power – coupled with the ruling party’s diminishing national credibility – made victory nearly a “foregone conclusion.”
In closing his post, Kirk writes: “In a nation where more than 80 percent of people identify as Hindu, an imperfect but enduring consensus has held that state policies should go some deliberate distance toward assuring Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and other minorities that their rights would not be permanently subjugated to majority tyranny. Let us hope that the centre can hold.”
An expert in contemporary India and South Asia, Kirk has published a book on the nation, “India and the World Bank: The Politics of Aid and Influence,” which was based in part om his doctoral disseration at the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches courses on comparative politics and international relations.