Modi urges BJP nominees to get more voters to polls following lower turnout

A week before voting in the third phase of India's long-drawn parliamentary elections on May 7, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written letters to BJP candidates asking them to encourage more people to vote as he seeks a rare third tenure.

As per the Election Commission's final voting figures released yesterday, the turnout in the first phase, covering 102 seats and the largest among all the seven phases, was 66.14 percent, and 66.71 percent in the second phase, in which 88 seats were at stake. Both figures are lower than the corresponding phases in the previous elections in 2019.

The Election Commission and political parties are concerned that unseasonably "hot weather and weddings" in parts of the country has affected the turnout of voters in the first two phases of voting.

Political observers say there is no single issue strong enough to hold sway among voters this time and the committed Hindu nationalist base of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may not be stepping out in bigger numbers due to complacency or overconfidence, resulting in lower turnouts.

Apparently concerned over decreased voter turnout in the first two phases, Modi in his personalised letters to BJP nominees who are contesting in the third phase said this was not a "usual" election and that it was important for the future of the country and to rid people of the "pains" inflicted by decades of Congress rule.

In the letter, Modi said he was aware of the problems caused by heat, but since this election was important for the future of the country, he urged voters to vote early in the morning before the temperature rises.

The letter called for booth-level mobilisation of BJP workers because "to win a parliamentary seat, it is necessary that we should win every booth".

The election campaign has shifted track and become more heated since the first phase of voting on April 19 as Modi and the main opposition Congress party have squared off on divisive issues with the Indian PM accusing Congress of favouring minority Muslims, aiming to dilute affirmative action and planning to impose an inheritance tax.

Congress has denied the charges and said Modi fears losing and was using divisive language to distract voters from real issues such as unemployment, rising prices and rural distress.