Not India but Indiana. Why US polls are sounding like an Indian election

The results of the 2024 US presidential election are pouring in and show a very close contest after a shrill poll campaign. The campaign issues and noise as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed could have passed off as a general election in India.

From the issue of threat to democracy, illegal immigrants and citizenship to fears over electronic voting machines (EVMs), the campaign issues would sound too familiar to people in India. It also goes on to show how issues have converged in a closely-knit world which is witnessing a rise in right-wing politics.

On Tuesday, Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said he was ready to concede defeat if the "election results were fair", but once again voiced concerns over the security of EVMs.

The former US president has repeatedly questioned the reliability of EVMs, asserting that they may compromise election integrity compared to traditional paper ballots.

Six congressional districts, considered swing districts, are using EVMs without paper records, according to a Reuters report.

Trump supporters alleged EVMs issues in Pennsylvania, one of the seven battleground states. They said the machines failed to scan ballots.

In India, the Opposition has questioned EVMs regularly, as per their convenience.

Even after the recent Haryana Assembly poll, the Congress raised the boogey of EVM fraud, only to be asked by the Election Commission of India to refrain from raising "unfounded and sensational complaints" at critical times, such as polling and counting days.

The EVM concerns in the US have to do with machines that are over a decade old, according to Reuters.

When going into the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Congress-led Opposition raised the issue of the threat to the Constitution, institutions and democracy in India. In the US, the Trump campaign too alleged that democracy was in danger from the Democrats.

Tesla boss Elon Musk, who pitched tents in Pennsylvania to campaign for Trump, warned Americans that it would be the last general election if the Democratic Party won the election.

"Very few Americans realise that, if Trump is not elected, this will be the last election. Far from being a threat to democracy, he is the only way to save it," posted Tesla and X boss Elon Musk.

Musk projected the Democratic Party as a threat to democracy in the US.

"...America then becomes a one-party state and democracy is over. The only 'elections' will be the Democratic Party primaries," said Elon Musk, urging voters to support Trump.

Not just democracy khatre me (in danger), illegal immigrants and citizenship have also been hot-button issues in the 2024 US presidential election.

The BJP has been highlighting the issue of illegal immigration, especially from Bangladesh, and brought in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to fast-track citizenship to persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries.

Even in the campaign for the Jharkhand Assembly election, the BJP is using the issue of illegal immigration as one of its poll planks.

On November 3, Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah announced that the party, if voted to power in the state, would bring a law to return land to tribals that had been grabbed by illegal immigrants. He also said that illegal immigrants would be deported.

Donald Trump has lashed out against Kamala Harris on the issue of the Democratic Party having allowed millions of illegal immigrants to cross into the US. He also said that Democrats flew in illegal immigrants on special flights.

Multiple opinion polls have shown that illegal immigration was a top voter concern, and Trump was seen as better placed to tackle it.

In mid-October, Trump promised to hire 10,000 additional border agents to thwart attempts by illegal aliens to cross into the US. He was campaigning in Arizona, a border state, which is also one of the swing states.

Add to that the India-related pitches by both Trump and Harris, an Indian-American with roots in a village in Tamil Nadu. While Kamala visited a temple in Pennsylvania, Trump spoke about the attack on Hindus in Bangladesh. The Republican candidate also spoke about his close ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With all these put together, the campaign noises in Indiana, a county in Pennsylvania, would sound very similar to campaign slogans anywhere in India. That is also a testament to the fact that a close-knit world is grappling with similar political issues.