Tough BJP challenge for Nehru-Gandhi family: China daily

The Nehru-Gandhi family, which has dominated Indian politics for over 50 years, is now facing a severe challenge from the main opposition BJP in the general elections next month, a leading Chinese daily said.

The Indian middle-class is moving away from the scandal-ridden Congress Party and pinning hopes on BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for his Gujrat- model development agenda, an op-ed piece in the Global Times said.

It said that the Congress started losing its hegemony over Indian politics in the 1990s when the BJP and some regional and caste-based parties began to grow.

The BJP has attacked many times the Nehru-Gandhi family for the country's defeat in the 1962 Sino-India war and economic misfortune of the country, it said.

The Aam Aadmi Party's bizarre policies has reulted in it losing stream among the middle-class and business circles, the op-ed piece said.

"The newly formed AAP government banned foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail after winning the Delhi assembly elections. This bizarre policy was a result of populism and contradicts the liberalisation of the economy, which is bound to be opposed by the middle classes and business circles," it said.

BJP prime ministerial candidate Modi is now a favourite of India's middle classes, it said.

"In the light of the corruption scandals by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the BJP vowed never to be corrupt and promises good governance under Modi's leadership," the daily said.

It said that the BJP was in a favourable place but still it would be premature to predict anything.

However, it said the UPA government's pet projects, such as food security scheme, and crackdown on illegal land seizure in the countryside to woo the voters might help them to gain some votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

No matter whether the Congress or the BJP wins, it has to secure the support from the regional parties and caste-based parties in forming the government, it said.