How an airline is casting a shadow on India’s coming elections
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi rode to power 5 years ago on his business friendly credentials and the promise of generating millions of jobs. Now an airline is on the verge of collapse, bringing Modi’s image under attack just months before national elections. Struggling in a competitive market where basic air fares can get as low as 2 cents, Jet Airways has piled on US$1.1b in debt and failed to pay loans and salaries. With about 23,000 jobs at stake, pressure is building on Modi for a rescue package as a collapse would mean bad optics in his re-election bid in a poll due by May. While Modi is not to blame for the unravelling of Jet Airways -- the airline was brought to its knees because of high fuel prices and intense competition -- his policies to make air travel affordable to more and more Indians didn’t help it either. <br/>
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How an airline is casting a shadow on India’s coming elections
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi rode to power 5 years ago on his business friendly credentials and the promise of generating millions of jobs. Now an airline is on the verge of collapse, bringing Modi’s image under attack just months before national elections. Struggling in a competitive market where basic air fares can get as low as 2 cents, Jet Airways has piled on US$1.1b in debt and failed to pay loans and salaries. With about 23,000 jobs at stake, pressure is building on Modi for a rescue package as a collapse would mean bad optics in his re-election bid in a poll due by May. While Modi is not to blame for the unravelling of Jet Airways -- the airline was brought to its knees because of high fuel prices and intense competition -- his policies to make air travel affordable to more and more Indians didn’t help it either. <br/>
