The BJP has consistently used its foreign policy credentials to bolster its domestic popularity, but the difference is mostly one of style rather than substance.
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A purported transcript of WhatsApp messages between a controversial Indian television anchor and a former head of a ratings agency making social-media rounds is quickly snowballing into a minor political scandal in India – and one that Pakistan is keen on exploiting as Prime Minister Imran Khan seeks to regain the initiative in shaping international narratives about his country’s relationship with arch-rival India.
Key elements of the story remain conjectural at this point pending a more extensive investigation. Furthermore, while it is exceedingly unlikely that it would cause any lasting political damage to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), or help further Khan’s India campaign, the episode highlights the complex – and often problematic – relationship between electoral politics, mass media, and the national security establishment in India.