Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
The weekend G20 summit was India’s big moment on the world stage, giving the country an opportunity to work on global issues and providing Prime Minister Narendra Modi a chance to present his credentials as a global statesman.
Although some analysts said the meeting showed few concrete results, his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is now cashing in on Modi’s enhanced image ahead of a series of state elections and national elections due by May 2024.
In the run-up to the summit, Modi’s face was plastered on G20 hoardings across the country. During the meeting last weekend, local television channels had wall-to-wall coverage of Modi with world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, and the praise that was showered on him for a successful meeting.
The BJP peppered its social media platforms with messages of praise from world leaders.
The summit declaration papered over key differences and had few breakthroughs in critical areas such as debt and climate change but for a popular leader with a long-dominant lead over his political rivals, these are diplomatic intricacies that matter little in domestic politics, analysts said.
India’s successful mission last month to land a spacecraft on the moon is another factor that feeds into the country’s feel-good image and gives Modi a fillip, they said.
The opposition Congress party has criticised Modi for turning G20 into an election campaign, charging him with promoting dialogue and peace on the international stage while his Hindu nationalist administration discriminates against religious minorities and quashes dissent, charges the government has denied.
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