Can anyone stop Narendra Modi?

摘要

Who does not marvel at the prospect of India going to the polls? Starting on April 7th, illiterate villagers and destitute slum-dwellers will have an equal say alongside Mumbai's millionaires in picking their government. Almost 815m citizens are eligible to cast their ballots in nine phases of voting over five weeks-the largest collective democratic act in history. But who does not also deplore the fecklessness and venality of India's politicians? The country is teeming with problems, but a decade under a coalition led by the Congress party has left it rudderless. Growth has fallen by half, to about 5%-too low to provide work for the millions of young Indians joining the job market each year. Reforms go undone, roads and electricity remain unavailable, children are left uneducated. Meanwhile politicians and officials are reckoned to have taken bribes worth between $4 billion and $12 billion during Congress's tenure. The business of politics, Indians conclude, is corruption.