This is not just despicable, it is dangerous. India is too combustible a place to be put into the hands of politicians who campaign with flamethrowers. As it is, vigilantes often beat up or lynch Muslims they suspect of harming cows, a holy animal for Hindus. Kashmiris studying in other parts of India have been set upon by angry nationalist mobs. And even if the BJP’s Muslimbaiting does not ignite any more full-scale pogroms, it still leaves 175m Indians feeling like second-class citizens.
這不僅卑鄙，而且危險。印度是一個非常易燃的地方，不應該被那些持噴火器競選的政客們所控制。事實上，義務警員經常毆打或私刑他們懷疑傷害牛的穆斯林，而牛是印度教徒的神圣動物。在印度其他地區學習的克什米爾人遭到了憤怒的民族主義暴徒的襲擊。即使人民黨對穆斯林的煽動沒有引發更大規模的大屠殺，它仍然讓1.75億印度人感覺自己是二等公民。
Congress, the BJP’s only national rival, may be hidebound and corrupt, but at least it does not set Indians at one another’s throats. It has come up with an impressive manifesto, with thoughtful ideas about how to help the poorest Indians. Its leader, Rahul Gandhi, although a much-derided dynast, has helped modernise the party a little, raising its profile on social media, for example. It is a worthier recipient of Indians’ votes than the BJP.
印度人民黨唯一的全國對手國大黨，可能墨守成規和腐敗，但至少不會讓印度人自相殘殺。人民黨提出了一個令人印象深刻的宣言，提出了如何幫助最貧窮的印度人的深思熟慮的想法。該黨領袖拉胡爾•甘地雖然飽受嘲笑，但他在一定程度上推動了該黨的現代化，比如提高了該黨在社交媒體上的知名度。它比人民黨更有資格獲得印度人的選票。
With less than a tenth of the seats in parliament, Congress will not improve its showing enough to form a government on its own. If it and its regional allies do better than expected, they may just be able to cobble together a majority. But even if, as is more likely, the BJP remains in charge, it would be preferable if it were forced to govern in coalition. (The current government is technically a coalition, but since the BJP has the numbers to rule without its partners, they have little influence.) The risk is that reforms get delayed yet again—but they were not progressing quickly anyway. A degree of bickering and stasis would be a price worth paying to curb the BJP’s excesses. At the very least, coalition partners might be able to bring down a truly wayward BJP government by leaving it.
由于在議會中只有不到十分之一的席位，國會的表現將不足以獨自組建政府。如果美國及其地區盟友的表現好于預期，他們或許就能勉強獲得多數席位。但即使人民黨繼續掌權(可能性更大)，若被迫聯合執政將會更好。（從技術上講，目前的政府是一個聯合政府，但由于人民黨擁有獨立執政所需的人數，他們幾乎沒有影響力。）風險在于改革又一次被推遲了——但無論如何，改革進展并不快。一定程度的爭吵和停滯將是遏制人民黨過度行為值得付出的代價。至少，聯合政府的伙伴們可以通過離開印度人民黨來推翻一個真正任性的政府。
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