Podcast: Modi’s enduring popularity; and HT’s Snigdha Poonam on young voters

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan Vaishnav (Director of the South Asia programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) chats with Sadanand Dhume (Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal columnist).

This week on Grand Tamasha, Milan Vaishnav (Director of the South Asia programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) chats with Sadanand Dhume (Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute and Wall Street Journal columnist).

In a recent column, Sadanand writes that “an outcome that appeared uncertain a few months ago looks exceedingly likely: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is poised to win a second term.”

Milan speaks with Sadanand about his recent trip to western Uttar Pradesh and the on-the-ground pro-Modi sentiment he found there. The two also discuss a recent column Sadanand penned on the BJP’s worrying majoritarian rhetoric and Milan’s recent Washington Post op-ed on why voters are searching for an excuse to back Modi.

Then, Milan speaks with Snigdha Poonam, national affairs reporter for the Hindustan Times, on her series on first-time voters. Each week, Snigdha and her colleagues profile a first-time voter across India and document their perspective on the 2019 race and what influences their vote.

Milan and Snigdha talk about how young voters view PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, and India’s economic travails. They also speak about Snigdha’s acclaimed book, Dreamers: How Young Indians Are Changing Their World, and the aspirations and anxieties that animate India’s youth.