Modi's foreign policy report card

The minuses of his government exceed its pluses

India is in the midst of a frenzied electoral exercise but foreign policy rarely excites the voters’ imagination. There may be an exception when it comes to relations with Pakistan but in the past it has not proved possible to sustain the related national security argument as a vote-catching issue. The same appears to be happening with the Balakot adventure where the effort to project the ruling party in tough nationalist colours is fading rapidly. This election, like several others before it, will be determined primarily by domestic issues even though foreign policy is also a point of contention. The