With around 40 countries scheduled to vote in 2024, including the world’s old­est and largest democracies: the United States and India, the globe is expected to witness a déjà vu. The political landscape is clouded by the possibility of Donald Trump’s return to power and PM Narendra Modi’s re-election which would further strengthen the hold of populist politics. India is gear­ing up for elections in April and May while the US has elections scheduled for November this year. Despite all the hype and confusion about these elections’ results, one question that keeps coming up is: what would be the fate of populism in the countries that are frequently praised as the epitome of democracy?

Populism has resurged in recent decades in many countries. The po­litical vacuum created by tradition­al political parties and their con­ventional style of politics paved the way for populist leaders like Don­ald Trump and Narendra Modi who gained popularity through their bombastic, chaotic and disruptive style of leadership. These leaders are adept at channelling and pack­aging the fears and concerns of the general public while presenting themselves as someone who comes from outside the existing politi­cal system. They act as both arson­ist and firefighters, who declare the country is in chaos and then offer themselves as the saviours.

With the........

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