Since 1950, India has been considered the world’s largest democracy. Although democracy-watching organizations have different methods of categorizing democracies, they all classify modern-day India as a “hybrid” regime, with a combination of both democratic and authoritarian features. Because the terms of several MPs are ending starting in May, many of the 2026 state elections are taking place throughout the month of April. These elections will determine the governments of these assemblies for the next five years. However, opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi have accused the Electoral Commission of India (ECI) of election fraud after the results of the 2024 election. Throughout the years under the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s rule led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has seen an erosion of democratic institutions and norms through suspicious electoral activity, tedious voter registration laws, vague criminal prosecution, and deteriorating civil liberties.

During a press conference in New Delhi on August 7th, 2025, Gandhi brought attention to the large concentration of votes that the BJP received from the Mahadevapura assembly segment. The opposition revealed over a million suspicious or fraudulent entries, including duplicate voters, fake or invalid addresses, bulk voter registrations at one address, or invalid photos. The ECI also refused to share digital copies of voter rolls, raising more suspicions towards India’s electoral process. In 2023, Modi’s government enacted the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act. This new legislation dismantled the appointment mechanisms previously laid down by the Supreme Court, where the selection panel consisted of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition, and the chief justice of India. Now, the CJI has been replaced by a Union Cabinet Minister, who is nominated by the Prime Minister, allowing Modi to have significant control over the appointments of election commissioners. This is an example of executive aggrandizement, or the politicization of institutions that were previously independent from the elected executive. This significantly undermines the purpose of the ECI’s independent role in holding free and fair elections across India, and could give the executive an unfair advantage in the polls, as the opposition had claimed. The suspicious behavior of the ECI has brought attention to India’s “democratic” electoral system, especially the disproportionate treatment of minority votes. 

Opposition leaders have also pointed out the government’s undemocratic expansion of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. They claim that the ECI has unfairly deleted votes from the ballots and prevented eligible voters from registering with excessive verification requirements. These laws were implemented in many areas, including Bihar, the poorest state in India where only 70% of births are registered and many lack basic documentation to prove their citizenship. According to Ozran Varol, these actions taken by Modi’s government are an example of stealth authoritarianism, specifically electoral laws being used to disenfranchise the opposition. By implementing voting registration obstacles, especially in poorer, minority-heavy areas, opposition parties who receive most of their support from these groups are left with little chance of winning an election. Another example of stealth authoritarianism under the current administration is the introduction of a draft bill in 2025, mandating that an elected official, if jailed for 30 consecutive days on charges with a minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, can be automatically removed from office despite being convicted of any crime. Furthermore, with the implementation of the new controversial criminal laws in 2024, authorities are able to prosecute for vague reasons, such as criminalizing speech deemed “antinational” or likely to “endanger sovereignty”. Using both of these new laws, the BJP can prosecute and remove any elected official from the opposition for vague crimes, placing large power in the hands of Narendra Modi. Rights advocates also argue that these new laws jeopardize individuals’ due process rights and could allow for the prosecution of government critics. With these vague criminalizations, attacks on civil liberties have increasingly escalated, especially toward those who criticize the current administration.

Freedom of speech and the press are essential for accountability and provide the citizenry with requisite information about the current government and relevant politicians. However, after the citizens of India became more aware of close relationships between politicians, business executives, leading media personalities, and owners of media outlets, there has been a large loss of confidence in “independent” press. For example, Gautam Adani, one of Modi’s close associates, acquired NDTV, India’s last major independent television network, in 2022. The severity of this situation is clear when taking a look at controlled media in Russia, an infamous authoritarian state. According to political scientist Scott Gehlbach, the presence of independent media affected voting behavior in Russian elections, demonstrating reduced support for the incumbent party and increased support for opposition. By cracking down on free press, India’s government actively limits the public’s ability to form their own opinions of the current system. Not only is freedom of the press under attack, but also freedom of speech. In May 2025, an Ashoka University professor was arrested for sharing posts on social media where he called for an end to military conflict between India and Pakistan, criticizing the BJP. He was charged for “endangering the country’s sovereignty and integrity”, a common prosecution under the recently established criminal laws. These examples demonstrate the deterioration of basic civil liberties, and put the people of India, specifically those who do not align with the incumbent, at risk of being silenced.

Although the corruption that surrounds India’s political system may make the future seem bleak for what once was the world’s largest democracy, human rights activists and democracy-watching organizations encourage the public to speak out when they notice institutions beginning to weaken. Freedom House reports that countries classified as “Partly Free”, such as India, are less likely to consolidate their democracies and often continue to experience the deterioration of democratic freedoms. It is crucial that the general public, both domestic and abroad, continue to monitor the legitimacy of India’s electoral processes during the upcoming state elections and call attention to the erosion of the public’s civil liberties.