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Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie India

Defence University to Defence Chief—Modi Government Now Has Political Capital for the Big Reforms

A striking feature of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was the unusual prominence accorded to national security in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign.

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By Srinath Raghavan
Published on Jun 18, 2019

Source: Print

A striking feature of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was the unusual prominence accorded to national security in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign. In 2014, the party’s election manifesto discussed security policy, but only towards the end. By contrast, the 2019 manifesto began with national security. Political scientists will debate the extent to which these issues shaped voters’ preferences, but the Narendra Modi government now has enormous political capital to bring about far-reaching reforms in defence — reforms that cannot be put off.

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This article was originally published in the Print.

About the Author

Srinath Raghavan

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Srinath Raghavan is a nonresident senior fellow at Carnegie India. His primary research focus is on the contemporary and historical aspects of India’s foreign and security policies.

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Srinath Raghavan
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Srinath Raghavan
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Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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