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Indian voters dissect Modi's politics while traversing the country by train

The Associated Press rode one of the longest trains in India — 1,800 miles from New Delhi to Kanyakumari — to interview voters about an election that will be decided in June

By Sheikh Saaliq
Published - May 21, 2024, 12:33 AM ET
Last Updated - May 27, 2024, 12:29 AM EDT

ABOARD THE THIRUKKURAL EXPRESS, India (AP) — The 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) journey south from New Delhi to Kanyakumari is one of the longest train rides in India, passing through cities, villages, scrub forests and deep ravines. 

The 22-car Thirukkural Express is a microcosm of India, carrying passengers from different castes and religions and with wide-ranging ambitions and grievances — from migrants crammed into sweltering no-frills cars to well-heeled families luxuriating in air-conditioned sleeper cabins, and everyone in between. 

Passengers can also be divided by their politics, a topic that is top of mind with a consequential election underway. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to win and reappoint Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the leader for the past decade — for another five years. 

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