Indian opposition parties will disrupt parliament more

Subject

Parliamentary disruptions and increasing riots in India.

Significance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month led a public fast in protest at disruptions inside parliament, which cost the budget session nearly 250 hours in lost deliberations. While the Indian legislature’s role in holding the executive to account is curtailed, popular riots provide a means to challenge government policies. India’s general election is due in 2019, when Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will seek to retain power.

Impacts

• Opposition parties’ attempts to have the Supreme Court chief justice impeached are unlikely to succeed.
• Spikes in civil violence are likely ahead of forthcoming state elections.
• The BJP and its allies may achieve a majority in the upper house after 2019, if Modi's party retains power.