LEILA FADEL, HOST:
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still really popular with a lot of India's public. His Hindu nationalist BJP party dominated Parliament for nearly a decade. But their power no longer remains unchecked. Last June, the opposition coalition gained ground. Devina Gupta reports from New Delhi on how India's political dynamic has shifted.
DEVINA GUPTA: For weeks outside India's Parliament, the scene is a mix of protests and symbolism.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting in non-English language).
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting in non-English language).
GUPTA: Opposition leaders were handing out red roses, waving mini flags and carrying blue bags with caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ally, billionaire Gautam Adani, who is now at the heart of a major bribery scandal.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Chanting in non-English language).
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting in non-English language).
GUPTA: Inside the House, the mood is charged.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
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GUPTA: Opposition members are raising slogans, demanding an independent probe into the corruption allegations against Adani. In November, he was indicted in the U.S. for his alleged role in a major bribery and fraud scheme. This political tug-of-war reflects a subtle shift in Indian politics. After the ruling, Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, faced a setback during recent elections, says Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst with the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
RASHEED KIDWAI: The ruling party has 53% of representation, and the opposition has 47%. So it looks very close.
GUPTA: That's after Congress, India's oldest party and the current main opposition joined hands with regional allies to form a new opposition alliance known as India for Elections. And this has changed the number game for the BJP, which enjoyed absolute majority for the last 10 years in the lower house of Parliament, or Lok Sabha.
SHAMA MOHAMED: Before many of the bills, it was just passed without any discussion, debate.
GUPTA: Dr. Shama Mohamed, the spokesperson for the Congress Party.
MOHAMED: The difference is now, the bills go to standing committee, and they're discussed, and they're not passed easily, because they do not have the numbers in the Lok Sabha.
GUPTA: And the recent Adani case in the United States presents them with a rare opportunity.
MOHAMED: The Congress Party's demand is we need a discussion on the Adani issue. It's very important.
GUPTA: And it's not just the Congress Party that's seeing a window of opportunity. It's 24 other regional allies too. Yashwant Deshmukh is the founder of an organization called CVoter, which tracks elections across India.
YASHWANT DESHMUKH: I think the opposition is strong and doing well. And there are a dozen of different opposition parties in India, which are strong in different states.
GUPTA: They are betting on transparency and coalition politics to challenge Modi's government. But is this a sustainable long-term strategy? Political analyst, Rasheed Kidwai.
KIDWAI: It is a rainbow opposition. They lack a sense of purpose and direction.
GUPTA: But in India, it's also about personality politics. The opposition block has to field a candidate who can match Modi's public persona.
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GUPTA: For now, they're banking on 54-year-old Rahul Gandhi. He comes from the prestigious Gandhi family, which has produced three prime ministers for India since its independence in 1947.
RAHUL GANDHI: The opposition also represents the voice of India.
GUPTA: But can he challenge Modi? Here's Yashwant again.
DESHMUKH: The problem with Mr. Gandhi is that he is picking up the issues which are not really the issues on the ground. Public of India is really worried about joblessness, not finding enough scope for growth.
GUPTA: But Yashwant says looking at the events in the world's largest democracy today, it's clear that the voice of the opposition is only growing.
For NPR News, I'm Devina Gupta, in New Delhi.
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