State of concern

摘要

For two years the state of Gujarat in western India has been making unhappy headlines: it has suffered an earthquake in January 2001 in which some 40,000 people died; the worst drought in a decade; and, earlier this year, murderous communal violence. Now an election on December 12th for the state's legislature will have nationwide repercussions. Gujarat is back on the front pages. Once again, it is not a good-news story. For that, blame Narendra Modi, the acting chief minister. Mr Modi, from the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads India's coalition government, is exploiting communal tensions for hoped-for electoral gain. If he succeeds, the habit may catch on. It could poison Indian politics before the general election that is due by 2004 at the latest, and raise questions about the future of the prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, a BJP moderate. If he fails, the Bjp-led government will be weakened, perhaps terminally. Some political observers reckon that Gujarat's is the most important state election for a decade.