The stage was empty, but the music blared, exhorting people to vote for Rahul Gandhi, as hundreds piled into the outdoor stadium in the city of Hyderabad in India’s south central region.
“Gandhi is moving forward, holding the tricolour flag,” rang out the crackled singing voice from the speakers, while the crowd gathered in the early evening heat, days before India’s fourth phase of voting in an election that continues until June 4.
When Rahul Gandhi finally entered and approached the mic, he waved a copy of India’s constitution to the assembled supporters.
He warned that Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister and his main opponent in the election race, was looking to alter the constitution in a bid to attack India’s secular values. The crowd murmured in agreement. (Modi and his party have denied those allegations.)
Gandhi is the leading face of the Indian National Congress. Though the party once ruled India for many decades after independence, it’s now struggling to maintain relevance, with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party presiding over India since 2014.
This story was originally published in cbc.ca. Read the full story here.
