Indian Elections: The Gift of Stability -- to the People, by the People

The people of India have spoken loud and clear and they have given themselves the gift of stability, and the victory of development over communalism and petty regional dogma.

Three hours after counting commenced, the Indian National Congress (INC) clearly began to emerge as the single-largest party and the incumbent Congress-led coalition, the United Progressive Alliance took a comfortable lead of over 250 seats and counting: just a few seats short of the magic number of 272 seats in the Indian parliament and a gap of over 50 from the closest opposition -- the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In my humble opinion the Congress, in practice, is not as secular as it claims to be and similarly the BJP is not as communal as people believe. But the fact that India has nationally supported one party in such strength, shows India's desire for stability and indicates the first, concrete step the country has taken away from communalism and divisive politics towards a politics of development; the emergence of a healthy, matured state of coalition governance.

And this will reflect in the second largest national party -- the Bharatiya Janta Party's (BJP) conduct as the parliamentary leader of the opposition and in its next election campaign as well.

This year the party was tied down by the old folk -- it was unclear whether it was embracing the Hindutva card or promoting itself as a secular organization. President Rajnath Singh's leadership was uninspiring and the party's prime ministerial candidate, 82-year-old Lal Krishna Advani, campaigned to fulfill his life's dream; he was far from the favorite of partymen and non-Congress supporters. The defeat will only have a positive outcome for the BJP as the old will retire and make way for the younger and more able leaders. And specifically for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi -- the champion of industry and Hindutva -- this loss will only strengthen people's demand for him to emerge as the party's leader and prime ministerial candidate.

And even as the saffron leader will aim to move into 7 Racecourse Road, there will not be a loud and obnoxious campaign on the basis of Hindutva, but for development instead. His name and face will send a silent call to the Hindu voters and the progress of Gujarat will warrant him to campaign on the vote of economic growth and industrial progress. And similarly, after Congress' dynastical next-in-line, Rahul Gandhi will step into Dr. Manmohan Singh's shoes, the economic progress made by his stable government this term, will be the foundation of his campaign.

India is a complicated democracy that survives as an island in a sea of political instability and undemocratic regimes. The country is divided by thousands of religions, castes and communities and politicians have always struggled to campaign based on policies and ideologies over religious and communal identities.

The results of this election are the first step away from that direction. The third and fourth fronts, coalitions of smaller regional parties, which were expected to provide the UPA and NDA a challenge this election, will only reduce in size. Instead, parties will join hands and have larger, steady coalitions instead. India wants a coalition that can act fast, progressively and not be bogged down by the whims of ideologically opposing parties like the one we saw last year, which supported the ruling coalition from outside and opposed its every move while threatening to topple the government.

As pundits pick their brains to determine the cause of this huge victory for the Congress, its important to remember that the victory is not that of one political party but of every political organization in India including the BJP, which will now be forced to reinvent itself and emerge as a true national contender to the Congress' dynasty, making the way for two strong and opposing sides and for a healthy democracy.

Comments

[Sinick]

Anant,

I am joyful and at the same time somewhat jealous that Indian voters can wield influence on the direction of their nation. However, I am jaded by American-style politics where we elect politicians and time-after-time they pursue some other agenda anyway. After a while, this type of behavior makes you ask yourself "why did I just vote? It's not going to make any difference in the long run anyway."

I sincerely hope that the Indian pols can be true to their campaign promises and hear/remember the voices of the citizens who elected them. The only voices that American pols hear are those of "contributors" from Wall Street, financial institutions, big business and lobbyists--everyday citizens need not apply.

[jhNY]

If India wushes to export the Gift of Stability, perhaps Step One would be to pull back the huge armed force presently encamped on the border of Pakistan.

[Strategy]

Well why don't you ask ISI and Pakistani military to stop exporting terror??
It's funny how US has some sort of "right' to bomb any country post 9/11 and India should be asked to reduce troops present in India. I mean ..come on! Indian troops are at least on the Indian side of the border.
Better read some history and geography before posting your "expert comments"!!

[jaysan]

jhNY,

India was certainly doing that when suddenly we were murderously attacked in Mumbai by Pakistani terrorists. Pakistan outwardly "condemned" the attacks in the press, and then meanwhile it did the opposite.

Indian and US authorities traced phonecalls from the terrorist gunmen back to the Pakistani residence of retired ISI General Hamid Gul. This led the US to move the UN Security Council for an immediate terrorist designation against the man. The Chinese govt blocked that move AT THE PAKISTANI GOVT'S REQUEST!

India determined that the terrorists had come from Pakistan, which Pakistan of course immediately denied. The lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab confessed that he was from Pakistan, where he had been trained for 6 months for his murder mission against Indian civilians in Mumbai. International media who located Kasab's hometown soon found it sealed off by Pakistani authorities, who denied them permission to talk to Kasab's parents.

Meanwhile, under heavy US pressure, Pakistan said it would ban the Muslim fundamentalist "charity" Jamat-ud-Dawa which raised funds used to finance the terror mission. It soon turned out that Pakistan had not really banned them at all, but merely asked them to lie low. Now the charity is openly operating in the Swat region, controlled by Taliban, under its original banner.

[jaysan]

(cont'd)

So nothing has changed. Pakistan continues to support terrorist organizations plotting murder and terror against India. We Indians are doing nothing to provoke the Pakistanis. But we will now no longer demilitarize the border, since Pakistan hopes to use this to slip terrorists across to attack us on our home soil. The reason why Pakistan seeks to do this, is because they hope to get us to rush our troops back to the border again, which they can use as an excuse to pull their troops out of the war against Taliban, an organization of their creation which they have no desire to fight.

[anshumanmishra]

I had posted this comment before, in response to another misguided soul on this site. This needs to be said again, however, so here goes.

Here's why India's not withdrawing its forces.

To the North of India lies Nepal. Taken over by a communist insurgency. There's no Prime Minister, and there are calls on the President and the Army Chief to resign. The nation is in chaos.

To the East of India lies Bangladesh. Recently come out of nearly two years of rule by a military junta. Floods, refugees, and a full-blooded Islamist movement (the Jamaat) that wants to turn the nation into a Taliban-style theocracy.

To the Far East of India lies Myanmar (Burma). Under martial law for the last 47 years.

To the South of India lies Sri Lanka. Insurgency by the Tamil ethnic minority against the majority Sinhala population. Terror attacks on a daily basis by the LTTE terrorist organisation, whose efforts will be violently redoubled now that their leaders have been killed.

To the Far North (and North East) of India lies China. Enough said.

To the West lies Pakistan. With whom four wars were fought. Where terrorist groups operate with relative impunity, crossing the border and taking innocent lives. And then there's the Taliban. And Al Qaeda. And further on, Afghanistan.

So do you still recommend India withdraw its armies from its borders?

Considering the neighborhood the Indians are stuck in, it's a crying shame that we don't turn out to be xenophobes.

[jaysan]

We're surrounded by xenophobes -- expansionist ones -- which is why we've been invaded so many times by them and conquered