Ahead of India’s Last Voting Day, PM Modi’s Constituency Speaks Volumes about India’s ‘New Economy’: Analysts

News Analysis VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA—As June’s monsoons swell the Ganges River, raising it to its zenith as it flows past the ancient holy city of Varanasi, the activities of the devout who throng to its banks for worship and rituals will ebb. India’s national elections have taken place over the past six weeks. As voting ends on June 1, it wraps up the biggest, most complex and most expensive election in the world, a remarkable feat of electoral democracy, with nearly 970 million people eligible to vote. Among the 57 constituencies in 8 states/union territories that will go to vote on June 1, the last in the seven phase long schedule and one of the most talked about is Varanasi. The 4,000 year old, densely populated city is the constituency of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is running for a third term in India’s lower House of Parliament, the Lok Sabha....