From the BJP manifesto promise to integrate Lord Ram into the Indian diplomatic agenda to the party’s claim that PM Narendra Modi had stopped the Ukraine war, the foreign policy touch to the Lok Sabha poll campaign is unprecedented. 

In this conversation with TNM’s Pooja Prasanna, senior journalist Smita Sharma talks about Modi’s image among world leaders, the truth behind the brand-building exercise, and the consequences of a Hindutva spin to foreign policy.