Modi's strongman rule raises questions about India's 'democratic decline' as he seeks a third term

• A decade into power, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to secure a rare third term, with the general elections now underway.
• Under his rule, India's economic growth has been robust and its geopolitical standing in the world has risen.
• Yet, the country has also witnessed signs of democratic backsliding which has become apparent during his leadership, observers and critics say.

A decade into power, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears set to secure a rare third term, with the general elections now underway.

Under his rule, India's economic growth has been robust and its geopolitical standing in the world has risen.

Yet, the country has also witnessed signs of democratic backsliding which has become apparent during his leadership, observers and critics say.

"Modi has projected himself in the mould of an East Asia strongman," Asim Ali, an independent political researcher in New Delhi, told CNBC.

He has also been called "the high priest of India — that he is above all politics," Ali added. "This is very worrying as mixing religious nationalism with economic development" has been a "central feature" of his government.  

In its latest 2024 report, the Sweden-based V-Dem Institute said a third Modi term could worsen the political situation "given the already substantial democratic decline under Modi's leadership and the enduring crackdown on minority rights and civil society."

The U.S. research group Freedom House said Indian elections will be taking place in a media landscape characterized by increasing "legal attacks on critical journalists" and news outlets.

There is no question the "space for democracy between elections has shrunk" under Modi, Milan Vaishnav, South Asia director at the Carnegie