Issue :   
April 2019 Edition of Power Politics is updated.    Wishing You All a Happy New Year.       April 2019 Edition of Power Politics is updated.
Issue:January' 2018

RANDOM THOUGHTS

US media and Indian
elections

M. R. Dua

Donald Trump Narendra Modi India’s April-May 2019 general elections will be watched by the entire world with unusual amazement and enormous interest.
The mass media in the United States seem to be predicting the saffron party’s come back to power in India. A noted Republican-Party-supporter daily, and a major Trump-ally, financial and economic newspaper,The Wall Street Journal, has s u p p o r t e d Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged the US President Donald Trump to take sides with India.’

The paper argues: ‘Mr. M o d i ’ s dominant presence in the political arena will likely be able to attract votes... BJP will contest this election on the issues of nationalism, national pride, national security, and strong leadership.’ On the contrary, the Opposition would try to shift the focus on the failure of the incumbent government on unemployment, farmers’ stress, price rise...’

The Washington Post opines that though economic frustrations have dented his popularity, the national opposition is in disarray. Nonetheless, polls suggest Modi’s ruling coalition is likely to retain power, albeit with lesser majority. A surge in nationalist passions may also strengthen Modi’s position as many Indians applauded his decision to authorize strikes against the country’s arch rival Pakistan.’

T h e W a s h i n g t o n Post further argues: India’s $2.6 trillion economy is r e c o v e r i n g ; M o d i ’ s reputation as a n incorruptible leader is largely intact; no other leader is as popular; Modi’s party is not exactly struggling to survive.

The New York Times has averred that the 2019 general elections ‘are a crucial test’ for the Modi government.’

Bloomberg media from the US capital, Washington, states: ‘This election will tell us a lot about how Indians assess the trade-off between Modi’s charisma and the economic performance of the government.’

Dubious act

Ashim Mitra I t is a sad, albeit shameful, story of an acclaimed India-origin pharmaceutical researcher, Dr. Ashim Mitra, from the Kansas campus of the University of Missouri. He could have made millions of dollars by ‘stealing his graduate (Ph.D.) student’s (also of India-descent Dr. KishorCholkar) research on some eye diseases, and secretly using it to sell a new drug’ . Dr. Mitra has resigned and will be facing dismissal from his prestigious position. The drug relates to treating eye ailments. The wife of Dr. Mitra, Ranjana, also a scientist, too is accused of aiding and abetting her husband in the theft. The university has sued the couple for allegedly cheating the university.