• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Srinath Raghavan"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie India"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie India",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "India"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Domestic Politics"
  ]
}

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.

Link Copied
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.

Read the Full Text

This article was originally published in the Print.

About the Author

Srinath Raghavan

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Security Studies Program

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.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Recovery, Resilience, and Adaptation: India From 2020 to 2030
      • +3

      Rajesh Bansal, Anirudh Burman, Rudra Chaudhuri, …

  • Commentary
    View From New Delhi

      Srinath Raghavan

Srinath Raghavan
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Security Studies Program
Srinath Raghavan
Domestic PoliticsIndia

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.

More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    The Kremlin Is Destroying Its Own System of Coerced Voting

    The use of technology to mobilize Russians to vote—a system tied to the relative material well-being of the electorate, its high dependence on the state, and a far-reaching system of digital control—is breaking down.

      Andrey Pertsev

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    How Will the Loss of Starlink and Telegram Impact Russia’s Military?

    With the blocking of Starlink terminals and restriction of access to Telegram, Russian troops in Ukraine have suffered a double technological blow. But neither service is irreplaceable.

      Maria Kolomychenko

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Where Does the Split in the Ruling Tandem Leave Kyrgyzstan?

    Despite its reputation as an island of democracy in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan appears to be on the brink of becoming a personalist autocracy.

      Temur Umarov

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Does Russia Have Enough Soldiers to Keep Waging War Against Ukraine?

    The Russian army is not currently struggling to recruit new contract soldiers, though the number of people willing to go to war for money is dwindling.

      Dmitry Kuznets

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    In Uzbekistan, the President’s Daughter Is Now His Second-in-Command

    Having failed to build a team that he can fully trust or establish strong state institutions, Mirziyoyev has become reliant on his family.

      Galiya Ibragimova

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.