GTA Indo-Canadians react as India's election results pour in
Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared victory Tuesday, appearing to lose significant number of seats
Indo-Canadians across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) kept a close watch on India's general election as results poured in, appearing to secure a rare third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governing party, but with fewer seats than anticipated.
For some in Canada's Indian diaspora, Modi's government has created stable economic conditions, but for others, his time in office has been largely marred by division and alleged interference. Modi declared victory on Tuesday evening, calling it "a historical feat in India's history." His party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), appeared likely to lose a significant number of seats, falling shy of an outright majority.
"This is actually a really shocking revelation and it really actually demonstrates the extent of misinformation in India," said Gurratan Singh, vice president at Toronto-based public relations firm Crestview Strategy and former NDP MPP for Brampton East.
"It's interesting to look at the fact [that] we are seeing, in many ways, a rejection of this extreme right-wing politic in India right now," he told CBC Toronto.
Singh said that many GTA residents, especially in Brampton, home to one of Canada's largest South Asian diasporas, were "very curious and attentively watching" for election results.
Singh, whose brother is federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, said the added strain of India-Canada relations following the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which sparked a wave of protests, has resulted in many rejecting Modi's government's politics.
"We know that Indian and Canadian relationships have been very strained recently ... and we know that Prime Minister Modi has said very anti-democratic and frankly shocking statements," Singh said.
"That's why we're seeing a degree of rejection of an individual prime minister who has used authoritarianism, has used right-wing extremism as his governing tools, and now we're seeing people reject that mandate," he said.
Last August, Ottawa paused trade negotiations with India, a month before Trudeau publicly accused India's government of involvement in Nijjar's killing.
The diplomatic strain continued into the fall as India forced Canada to remove two-thirds of its diplomats from the country, threatening to strip them of diplomatic immunity, and temporarily halted processing visas for Canadian visitors.
Mixed reaction across Toronto as Modi victorious
Modi will still govern with the support of allies, and according to the Canadian Hindu Chamber of Commerce (CHCC), a Toronto-based not-for-profit organization that represents Canadian Hindus, that's a big win.
"The people, they decided to give Narendra Modi his third term ... the people have spoken up and it's a great display of democracy in India," CHCC president Kushagr Dutt Sharma said.
Since Modi took office in 2014, foreign domestic investment has jumped significantly, he said.
"I think India is a good place to do business under the current government and they've brought a lot of stability over the last 10 years," he said, citing that the Canada Pension Plan announced in March it would be investing $300 million in India's National Highways Infra Trust, which makes capital investments in maintaining and expanding the country's highway network.
Nearly 970 million people — more than 10 per cent of the world's population — were eligible to vote and turnout averaged 66 per cent, according to official data.
A total of 272 seats are needed for a majority. In 2019, the BJP won 303 seats, up from 282 in 2014 when Modi first came to power.
'Not as strong as people thought it would be'
Santbir Singh, a research associate with the Sikh Research Institute and a PhD student at York University, said the election results falling shy of an outright majority are welcome news for many community members.
"For the Sikh community here, especially those who are engaged in political activism, Modi's government has really been a disaster and quite troubling," Singh told CBC Toronto Tuesday.
"This setback I think speaks well for democracy and for the rule of law. It's not as strong as people thought it would be ... I think [that] is a good sign, and a good sign for India's minorities as well."
Modi has said that in a third term he would advance the country's defence capabilities, boost jobs for youth, raise exports and help farmers, among other priorities.
His campaign turned increasingly shrill, as Modi ramped up polarizing rhetoric that targeted Muslims, who make up 14 per cent of the population, a tactic seen to energize his core Hindu majority voters. The opposition INDIA alliance has attacked Modi over his Hindu nationalist politics and campaigned on issues of joblessness, inflation and inequality.
"[Modi's] been playing the populist playbook, which is demonizing minorities, really strengthening the North Indian Hindu heartland, and creating this boogeyman within the country of Muslims and Sikhs and Christians and anybody who doesn't follow into this narrow definition of what an Indian citizen should be according to right-wing Hindutva forces," he said.
"I think that really appeals to a lot of people, unfortunately."
Even though Modi will have a strong opposition, it's unlikely they'll get in the way of his economic policies, said Husain Aboghodieh, former policy adviser to the minister of International trade.
"I don't think any opposition will try to chart a different course," Aboghodieh said.
"But I think a lot of what the opposition gains [have] to do with a lot of other factors in the country."
In a report released in May, foreign interference inquiry commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue said India had meddled in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections and that the focus of Indian foreign interference was primarily around diaspora communities here.
With files from Dale Manucdoc, Sara Jabakhanji, The Canadian Press and AP