What Muizzu's party's win in Maldivian elections means for India
The People's National Congress—led by President Mohamed Muizzu—won the Maldivian parliamentary elections on Sunday. The PNC secured 70 out of 93 seats in the Majlis, significantly reducing the presence of opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which now holds just over a dozen seats. To recall, pro-China Muizzu came to power in 2023 after defeating the MDP leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih—who was known to favor India. Let's take a look at what does the PNC's win mean for India?
Muizzu's victory signals stronger China ties
Muizzu's victory is seen as a potential setback for India—currently engaged in a rivalry with China for influence in the region. Since coming to power, Muizzu has ordered India to withdraw its small military detachment from the Maldives by May and purchased drones from Turkey to replace Indian-donated aircraft used for patrolling the country's maritime boundary. Moreover, his presidential campaign was marked by an "India out" theme, accusing his predecessor of compromising national sovereignty by giving India too much influence.
Muizzu's China-focused economic cooperation plans
Muizzu's election win is seen as a crucial endorsement of his plan to foster closer economic cooperation with China—including building thousands of apartments on reclaimed land. During the parliamentary election campaign, he awarded high-profile infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies. Earlier this year, Muizzu visited China to discuss an increase in tourists and inbound flights from the country. His first state visit after his presidential victory was to Beijing, not New Delhi, signaling a shift in diplomatic priorities.
Diplomatic row between India and Maldives
Recent diplomatic tensions have arisen between India and Maldives, particularly due to Muizzu's anti-India stance. Separately, in January, the Maldives government suspended three of its ministers—Shiuna, Malsha Shareef, and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid—after they shared offensive remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. Notably, Shiuna, had called PM Modi a "clown" and "puppet" in now-deleted X posts after the PM posted pictures of his Lakshadweep visit. The posts were taken down after backlash on the micro-blogging site.
India continues to be Maldives's strongest ally: Muizzu
India, once the leading source of foreign visitors to the Maldives, has slipped to sixth place, as per Maldivian government data. However, recently, Muizzu appears to have extended an olive branch to India recently. "India will continue to be the Maldives's strongest ally," Muizzu stated, as reported by NDTV. While New Delhi aims to downplay any hint of strained relations with Male, the external affairs ministry will undoubtedly monitor the situation closely in the island nation closely.
