Parliamentary Election Results and Changing Voter Attitudes in India
VIEW EVENT DETAILSEvening address by Dr. Rajiv Lall, Executive Chairman, IDFC
Drinks reception at 6:30 pm
Presentation at 7:00 pm
Close at 8:00 pm
The electorate in the world’s largest democracy is going to the polls in what has been described as the most important election for decades. In power since 2004, the center-left Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, is pitted against the Hindu nationalist BJP, which favours more "pro-business" economic policies. The BJP's campaign is headed by Narendra Modi, who is wooing voters with promises to reinvigorate India's flagging economy and to create jobs for its youthful population. 815 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, with election results to be announced on May 16. In this presentation, Rajiv Lall with analyze the results, how voter attitudes have changed, implications for domestic politics and the future direction of its foreign affairs strategy.
Dr. Rajiv Lall is Executive Chairman of IDFC, and has about three decades of experience with leading global investment banks, multilateral agencies and in academia. His areas of expertize include project finance, private equity/ venture capital, international capital markets, trade, infrastructure and macroeconomic policy issues. Dr Lall is an avid commentator on issues related to public policy, and writes a regular column for the Business Standard, a leading financial daily in India. Dr. Lall was India's representative to the G20 Workgroup on Infrastructure and has chaired the Global Agenda Council on Infrastructure at the World Economic Forum. He chairs the National Committee on Infrastructure of the Confederation of Indian Industry, a leading business chamber in the country. He was a member of the Planning Commission's Steering Committee on Urban Development Management set up to help formulate India’s 12th Five Year Plan; the Prime Minister’s Committees on Infrastructure Finance and Transport Sector Development; and the Expert Group on Modernization of Indian Railways. Dr. Lall has a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University.