(Bloomberg) -- Each day, Bloomberg journalists take you across a selection of towns and cities as they gear up for the big vote.

Hi, I am Paresh Jatakia and I write about IPOs and new stocks from Mumbai. I hail from Bhavnagar in the western Indian state of Gujarat, home to the world’s largest ship-breaking yard. The constituency, where elections will be held on May 7, has voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in every poll since 1991 and the party won all seats in the state in the previous federal election in 2019. Things may be the same this time as well, with the BJP using an uncontested victory scored by a candidate in Surat to project its sway and deflect from controversy generated by the chief minister’s remarks about the powerful Rajput community.

Are India’s Space Ambitions Election-Proof? (Video)

Top Stories

India dismissed a Washington Post report alleging senior members of the country’s intelligence agency approved a plot to kill a US-based Sikh activist, while on the same day raising concerns about separatists sentiments made at a Sikh event in Canada.

Read more:

  • IMF Boosts Asia Growth Forecast This Year on China, India
  • SocGen Traders in Asia Exited After Options Bets Went Undetected

Campaign Trail

Allegations of sexual abuse and assault were made against Prajwal Revanna, a leader of Janata Dal (S), BJP’s ally in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The party suspended Revanna, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda’s grandson, while the Congress-led state government formed a team to probe the matter. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked Modi for his silence on the issue, while BJP’s Amit Shah blamed the Karnataka government for not acting on the case. 

Separately, at an election rally in Maharashtra’s Latur, Modi said that his government’s approach on tackling terror has seen a sea change compared to what was followed during the Congress regime as these days India kills terrorists on their own turf.

Global Media

Al Jazeera reported that prime minister Narendra Modi’s cult-like popularity appears untouched by many voters’ dissatisfaction over their economic situation. Its report cited a recent survey that showed that inflation and a lack of jobs are the top concerns for Indians, but voters’ faith in Modi remained largely unshaken.

Who Votes This Week?

India’s mammoth election runs through June 1, with counting scheduled for June 4. This map from the Election Commission of India shows which constituencies vote when.

Related News

TOP ELECIN for top India election stories; readers on the app click BTDY ELECIN

NI BGOVBANDB The Ballots & Boundaries newsletter

NI BTDC Podcast on Money, Power, and Politics

Indians have started voting in the world’s biggest election. Understand how money and business intersect with politics and power by following Bloomberg India’s channel on WhatsApp, and sign up for the weekly India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi.

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

--With assistance from Supriya Batra.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.