by Kailash Chand
INDIA’S election took five weeks, cost hundreds of millions of pounds and involved 700 million eligible voters from the snow-capped Himalayas to the beaches in the south. But the wait was worth it for the ruling Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance which won 260 seats – just short of the 272 needed for a simple majority. Political analysts and exit pollsters were left red-faced after predicting a tight race between Congress and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
Five years of good economic performance, an enormous scheme for providing employment to the rural poor and £10 billion worth of loan waivers for farmers seems to have done the trick for the UPA. And by winning the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha or Parliament, the Congress Party-dominated alliance has pulled the nation out of the jaws of political instability that was worrying many Indians for the last few months.
The electoral mandate also reveals a rejection of large and unwieldy coalitions – that followed the last three general elections – and a dislike of religious, sectarian and caste politics. Instead, there seems to be a widespread desire for continuity and good governance.
The result is a bitter disappointment for the BJP, its National Democratic Alliance and parties of the left. The Indian electorate has rejected policies proposed by the left at one end of the political spectrum and by the Hindutva brigades of the BJP at the other.
The BJP proposed a national agenda that appeared to be socially divisive, while the left’s idea of nation-building was perceived to be at odds with the spirit of the times.
The election also appears to mark a generational shift. The outcome appears to signal the definitive political emergence of Rahul Gandhi, 38, the son of Rajiv Gandhi, as heir to the leadership of the ruling Congress Party and future prime minister. Manmohan Singh, the incumbent Prime Minister, is 76, and recently underwent heart bypass surgery. He is expected to hand over the reins to his heir-apparent in a year or two.
India faces a number of internal and external challenges: in particular, the impact of the global economic slowdown and the tensions and instability in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. India’s broken infrastructure, decaying cities, child malnutrition and appalling education and healthcare need fixing. Congress has a mandate.
