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In a World of New Challenges to Democracy, Experts Examine the Significance of India’s Upcoming Elections

Over 950 million voters will head to the polls in India’s elections next week. A look at the election’s domestic and global importance.
In a World of New Challenges to Democracy, Experts Examine the Significance of India’s Upcoming Elections
People wave India's national flag as they take part in the 'Ahimsa Run' (Nonviolence Run) during a campaign to create voter awareness ahead of the country's upcoming national elections in Jabalpur on March 31, 2024.Uma Shankar Mishra/AFP via Getty Images
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NEW DELHI—India, the world’s most populous democracy, is getting ready for a six-week-long election schedule starting April 19 to elect its next federal government. It’s an event that will shape India’s policy, economy and rise over the next five years.

Estimated to be the world’s largest-ever democratic exercise, the elections will involve 945 million registered voters, more than the entire populations of North America and South America put together. They are expected to be the most expensive polls in world history, even surpassing the election budget of the United States.

Venus Upadhayaya
Venus Upadhayaya
Reporter
Venus Upadhayaya reports on India, China, and the Global South. Her traditional area of expertise is in Indian and South Asian geopolitics. Community media, sustainable development, and leadership remain her other areas of interest.
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