Will New Maldives President Muizzu Be Able To Move Away From ‘India First’ Policy? Not Really

President-elect Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives may have won the Presidential elections in Maldives, but in reality he can do little considering India’s unprecedented inroads in the Indian Ocean archipelago with mega infra and connectivity projects.

Riding on the infamous ‘India Out’ campaign and cleverly exploiting the anti-Indian military sentiments, Mohamed Muizzu has come to power as the new President of Maldives, defeating incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The outgoing president had unabashedly followed an ‘India First’ foreign and strategic policy throughout his tenure that began in 2018 even as his own party ran into a plethora of problems owing to a major split that saw the party’s kingpin Mohamed