CONGRESS WINS INDIAN ELECTIONS 2009!! - For Real this Time

All the phases of voting, the nail-biting tension (for some I'm sure) and truckloads of suspense have resulted in the Congress winning and winning decisively. Congress has won more seats than any single party since they did the same feat back in 1991. It speaks to the fragmentation of India and the shift towards multi-party coalition politics with weakened governments in the last 18 years.

Has the Indian voter realized this process wasn't working too well? I don't think so, I think they felt the UPA were the lesser of all evils and have voted accordingly.

I was a fan of such politics for quite a while, thinking it to be true democracy where everyone has a voice in some form or the other. Pragmatically speaking though it means decisions are slowed and are constantly under attack with blackmailing threats from minority allies that they will back out. The mandate that Congress has gained over the last month means that they will be able to push more policies through. Best of all there is going to be no need to pay heed to the Left. The CPI (M) has been blown to smithereens in West Bengal by Mamta Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress, considered by many to be a mad woman (an euphemism). The Left had reared its head highest during the ratification of the 1-2-3 Act aka the Indo-US Nuclear Pact. India was not going to bow down to an imperialist capitalist nation according to them. Well sucks for you now, Left.

Extremely gratifying is the erosion of power of Mayawati and the BSP in Uttar Pradesh. Congress gained a heck of a lot under the organization, leadership and campaigning of a certain Rahul Gandhi. The man has been vindicated I feel. He has done brilliantly to bring Congress to such a position of power in a state where they have had virtually no presence in recent times. Moreover, the opposition he was up against in Mayawati is not to be smirked at. Going from strength to strength in recent times she was more than just a dark horse for the seat of Prime Minister. That itself was based on her ability to gain upwards of 50 seats and then lining up anti-UPA allies.

We now know that was optimistic but it didn't seem so for the longest time. Her appeal to the Dalit community had grown to encompass anyone poor including Muslims, long a vote bank for the 'secular' Congress. Running Muslim celebrity candidates such as Mohammad Azharuddin and fabulous campaigning by Rahul's best mate, Omar Abdullah, are some simple reasons to point to that the Muslim vote was regained. They were also no doubt aided by the antics of Varun Gandhi and my Mayawati's unbridled lust for central power, distracting her from her home state.

Rahul should be commended for his role in the overall victory and UP's contribution to it. He has said that he does not want to be a cabinet minister and that has its plusses and minuses. He probably should continue in his organizational role as it has done wonders as all can see. Abandoning it now may lead it to unravel overnight. As a cabinet minister though, he will gain the experience for the role he has been earmarked since birth - Prime Minister. He will also have an opportunity to prove he can handle the responsibility and can create a track record to be judged on. Manmohan Singh has asked him to join the cabinet and I feel certain he will this time round.

The question is what portfolio will he get? Surely, it will be something more minor to start with and a subsequent reshuffle landing him a more prominent role as Home Minister or something similar. Very, very interesting.

On the subject of Prime Minister himself, Manmohan is due to be the first back-to-back term PM in India since Nehru. Incredible, if true. To be fair, I'm sure Congress and its allies would prefer either Sonia or Rahul to be PM because it is a dynastic party. Manmohan is a regent who may be redundant. As long as his biggest fans remain Sonia and Rahul, Manmohan will be PM.

The BJP are deserved losers. Much of their campaign was negatively aimed at Manmohan. He is a weak leader, they said. A puppet with no voice of his own. But what was their strong leadership going to provide? Greater communalism than already exists? Alienating what is still nominally the world's strongest power? More hostility towards Pakistan? I don't see their economic policies appealing to anyone but urban businessmen. Not that Congress is much better saying we achieved 6% during a global recession so we rock. Going down to 6% (4.5% according to the IMF) from 9%+ is akin to recession, they must know that.

I still feel though that even though Congress is a hodge podge of everything, it is better than being the uber-nationalistic BJP. The BJP has a major need to re-invent itself much like the Republican Party in the US. Modi is the immediate future and has become a beacon of development. Personally, the spectre of Godhra still hangs over him. They are also counting the costs of defending Varun Gandhi's anti-Muslim statements. Though he won his seat, how many others were lost in the process? A Gandhi-Gandhi future? I don't think so.

The final reckoning should show a strong government without the need to dilly-dally or hold massive referendums on policy making. Stability is key for development and growth and most importantly for inspiring confidence in every walk of life. The people have spoken.