Bihar polls attract interest of the world; may decide course of economic reforms
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, ET Bureau | 16 Sep, 2015, 06.13AM IST
NEW DELHI: No Assembly election in India since Narendra Modi came to power last May has seen such interest from foreign missions here as the forthcoming Bihar polls. The US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, China, Australia and Singapore are keenly following the developments in the run up to the October-November elections, which may decide the course of economic reforms and investments in India in the next few years.
Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand went to polls after last year's parliamentary elections. But those elections did not attract any special attention. After its failure to push key policies through Parliament as the ruling coalition is a minority in the Rajya Sabha, the government has slowed down a bit on reforms with the Bihar elections also approaching. A victory in the eastern state will give Modi and the BJP more firepower to take on the Opposition and carry on with reforms. Therefore countries that have key economic stakes in this country are keen on the outcome of the polls, sources in various diplomatic missions told ET. Some diplomatic missions may even plan field trips to Bihar in the next few weeks to understand the ground situation, sources indicated.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity, because they don't want their views to come in the open as that could be seen as interfering with India's internal political affairs. However, Bihar elections and its likely outcome are talked about in private conversations in diplomatic circles of Delhi. "We are watching Bihar closely as it comes at a time when there has been questions about the Modi government's performance," a diplomatic source from an Asian country told ET.
But a diplomat from another Asian country sounded positive. "Politically, the election will be very important for the BJP to maintain its position of strength. If the BJP wins, it might have positive implications on its ability to push through its key reforms such as the GST," a source from the Singapore High Commission said. Singapore has been a favourite for Modi for many years. He plans a bilateral trip to the city-state towards the end of November.
The UK, which the Confederation for British Industry's Sterling Assets India report says has the highest foreign investment in India among all G-20 countries, is observing the elections in Bihar with great interest. "We are following closely and analysing what's happening in the eastern Indian state," a British government source told ET, but refused to comment further maintaining that it is an internal political matter of India. Last week, British Minister of State for Trade and Investment Francis Maude told ET that his country was satisfied with the initial steps taken to improve ease of doing business here, but he sought additional steps to make this country a more attractive destination.
European powerhouse Germany, whose chancellor Angela Merkel would be visiting India next month, was also guarded in its reply. "The German Embassy observes the Bihar elections just as any other polls in India as part of our political analysis," a source said.
Canada and France, which Modi visited last April eyeing to draw natural resources and investments, are also understood to follow Bihar elections with interest. However, their diplomatic missions in Delhi refused to comment. Canada in particular is maintaining silence in public on all issues due to ongoing Parliament elections there. The Chinese Embassy too has refrained from any comments even though interests are high in Beijing over investments in their neighbouring country. The US Embassy did not comment on the matter.
