Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi’s stunning electoral feat has received a mixed review in the American media, with the country’s top two newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post, commending his record of governance, yet quizzing if he would become a “strident Hindu nationalist who might impose a sectarian agenda”.
But the country’s leading economic daily, The Wall Street Journal, called the election result “India’s moment”. Stating that Modi’s record “offers reasons for optimism”, it advanced the argument that the landslide for the BJP offers hope for an economic breakthrough.“The landslide victory reflects a changing country more willing to extend governance to those outside the established elite,” The Times said in an editorial, noting that the victory gives Modi the chance to revitalise the economy and shape the way India engages with the world.
Yet, advancing the Western skepticism, the paper commented: “One of the most important questions is whether Mr Modi will be the pragmatic pro-business leader who has argued for putting a priority on economic reforms and creating jobs, or whether he will be the strident Hindu nationalist who might impose a sectarian agenda on a largely secular State.”
“He set a good tone on Friday by promising to work for the good of all Indians, and he will need to stick to that commitment,” it added. The Post went a step further, rhetorically posing whether Modi would turn out to be the Deng Xiaopeng of India with his push for economic reforms “or its Vladimir Putin — a leader whose economic ambitions are derailed by nationalism and authoritarian temptations”.
The paper, however, conceded that in the just-concluded elections, “Modi offered a compelling alterative as a leader with a record of overseeing a decade-long boom in the state of Gujarat, primed by aggressively tackling infrastructure and energy bottlenecks, paring excessive regulation and attracting private investment”.
“He has promised to do the same for the country at large, sketching ambitious plans for new cities linked by bullet trains. A frequent visitor to China, he clearly aspires to show that India can match Chinese dynamism,” The Post commented.
In its comment, the WSJ said: “The world’s largest democracy makes a statement at the polls: No to corruption, bureaucracy and dynastic politics, and yes to Narendra Modi’s promise of a country ready to do business.”Stating that Modi “inherits a country that is now impatient with its leaders”, the paper said: “It remains to be seen whether he and the BJP can refashion it in their own image. But they are clearly determined to try ...to change India for not just an election cycle but for years to come.”