What the far-Right’s rise in Germany could hold for India
Germany’s political shift raises questions for India’s growing community and strategic ties
Bharatmorning.com – India’s expanding relationship with Germany is entering a more uncertain political environment. In recent years, the two countries have strengthened their engagement, with particular attention to defence manufacturing, technology sharing and broader strategic cooperation. The visit by German chief of defence Carsten Breuer to India last week highlighted the importance both sides place on military and security links.
That momentum has developed while a centre-Right government has been in office in Berlin. Now, the electoral advance of Alternative für Deutschland, or AfD, is prompting concern in India and among Indian residents in Germany. The party’s rise matters not only for domestic German politics but also for students, skilled professionals and families whose futures are tied to the country.
State elections mark a significant moment
State elections held in September in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin drew exceptional international attention. For the first time since the Nazi dictatorship ended, a party classified as far-Right has achieved overwhelming electoral success and may be able to enter, or lead, governments in two German states.
Coalition talks and government formation remain at an early stage. Berlin is the only one of these contests where keeping the AfD out of government appears possible, though even there its result was striking. On September 20, the party won 16.3% of the vote, placing third behind Die Linke and the Christian Democratic Union, or CDU.
The pattern is not confined to eastern Germany. In March 2026, the AfD secured 18.8% in Baden-Württemberg, a major western state with a large population and strong economy. That was nearly twice its 2021 share. Further elections are due in western states over the coming months and years, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. If similar gains continue, the party could become more influential there too. National polling for the next federal election already shows it performing more strongly than the CDU.
Why the development is especially relevant to India
The AfD’s growth has direct relevance for countries whose citizens have become an important part of Germany’s workforce and education system. The party opposes immigration from non-white countries and has advocated policies that could affect naturalised citizens under certain circumstances.
India is one of the clearest examples of the stakes involved. The number of Indian nationals living in Germany increased from 86,000 in 2015 to roughly 280,000 in early 2025. More than 152,000 work in positions covered by social-security contributions, often in relatively well-paid information technology and engineering roles. Nearly 59,000 are students. The remaining estimated 69,000 are mainly family members, including spouses and children of workers and students.
For many Indian families, Germany has represented an opportunity to study, build careers and establish long-term homes. A political climate more hostile to immigration could make those pathways less predictable, even where formal legal protections remain in place.
Skilled workers at the centre of the debate
The AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt platform calls for the state to avoid relying on “foreign-culture skilled workers,” without explaining how that phrase should be defined. A question sent through the citizen platform abgeordnetenwatch.de asked Ulrich Siegmund, who won the election in Saxony-Anhalt and is likely to become minister-president, whether an Indian woman working as a doctor would fall within that category. He did not answer.
Siegmund has nevertheless indicated his preferred approach to staffing shortages. He has said he would rather encourage Germans who have emigrated to return than depend on the 153 Syrian doctors practicing in Saxony-Anhalt. In a televised election debate, he put the realistic number of potential returnees at “hundreds.”
“Hundreds”
That scale falls far short of Germany’s broader need for skilled labour. The contrast exposes a central tension in the debate: Germany’s economy requires qualified workers, while the political appeal of immigration restriction can make recruitment and retention more difficult.
Indian professionals are likely to watch this closely. They are present in sectors where technical qualifications, advanced training and international mobility are especially important. Any move that makes residence rules, employment conditions or family reunification less secure could affect individual choices about whether to study, work or remain in Germany.
Citizenship offers stronger, but not unlimited, protection
The AfD has also announced ambitions to revisit past naturalisations. In Bavaria, it has demanded a retrospective examination of all naturalisations completed since 2016. It cannot carry out such a measure itself because citizenship law is decided at the federal level.
In the immediate term, people who have not yet become German citizens would be more exposed to changes in residency and employment rules if the AfD entered a state or federal government. Those who are already naturalised have substantially stronger legal protection.
Naturalisation among Indians has risen sharply. Annual naturalisations nearly doubled from 2,775 in 2022 to 4,705 in 2024. Estimates from the Institute for Employment Research indicate that almost two in five people of Indian origin in Germany already possess German citizenship.
This has a particularly personal consequence for many families. India does not permit dual citizenship, and more than 90% of Indians who have become German citizens have given up their Indian passports. The AfD has called for stripping citizenship from criminal “dual nationals,” but this proposal would not apply in the same way to people who no longer hold Indian nationality.
A wider test for bilateral engagement
India-Germany relations are not defined by one election or one party. Defence cooperation, technology partnerships, academic links and business ties have developed through institutions that extend beyond state-level politics. Yet domestic political change can shape the climate in which those ties operate.
For India, the issue is therefore both strategic and human. New opportunities for industrial and defence cooperation may coexist with uncertainty for Indian doctors, engineers, technology workers and students living in Germany. As the AfD expands its influence, Berlin’s ability to remain attractive to international talent will become an increasingly important question—not only for Germany’s economy, but also for partners such as India.
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