The Indian voters have clearly cast their verdict in favour of secularism, against regional parties in national politics and stability. They have voted for India and not the regions. They have also rejected the left force as a third force in Indian politics where the left has been routed even in their traditional strong bases in West Bengal and Kerala.
The Congress led UPA has been pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Wise and scholarly Dr Manmohon Singh, who has already been named as Prime Minister for another term, will thus be the first Prime Minister to return to the office in successive elections since Jahwarlal Nehru in 1961. The Congress that secured 203 seats and the UPA 260 will now just need a dozen more to reach the magic figure of 272 that will not require any horse trading. Indian politics is thus set on a stable course over the next five years at a time when stability is crucial to India’s future.
BJP led NDA did not expect to lose so badly. In fact, they have been trounced, getting 158 seats. In some bit of soul searching, the alliance leaders are blaming themselves for their defeat, particularly for playing the communal card with Varun Gandhi anti-Muslim hate speech and Narendra Modi’s emergence in the front as a possible Prime Minister of India. Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat, a position that he is still holding, directly used the state machinery against the Muslims in the Hindu-Muslim riots in 2002 in the province. His complicity in the riots has been condemned in India and well as abroad and the United States has a ban on him from entering the country for his role in the Gujarat riots.
The elections will bring to office in New Delhi a strong and stable government that is necessary for India to deal with the current economic crisis in the country; a crisis that has resulted from the world economic meltdown. The strong and stable government will also allow India to carry forward its strategic partnership with the US that was put into place when President Bush was in office. There are a host of other issues that the two countries need to closely interact with and the election result will allow India to do that with President Obama who is deeply concerned with security in the region with situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan sliding. The results will also give a strong signal to foreign investors who had been uncomfortable under the last UPA Government that was threatened into inertia and inaction by the left parties that was a part of the UPA alliance before it came out to make life difficult for the government on economic issues and issues of economic reform.
For Bangladesh, the results mean Congress will be in power for the next 5 years, stronger and confident. The AL Government that has historically close relations with India can now use that closeness to resolve a number of outstanding issues in our bilateral relations , on water sharing, maritime boundary demarcation, trade issues and militancy. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina should, at the earliest opportunity, meet the Indian Prime Minister and also make efforts to interact with Sonia Gandhi, for political direction from them to overcome the mindset in India for betterment of Bangladesh-India relations. There are also a few lessons to be learnt from the Indian elections. The way Manmohon Singh and LK Advani have interacted with each other after the results were announced should remind our leaders what they lack. The offer of Manmohon Singh to take the opposition on board to govern India is the most important lesson our political parties could take from the Indian elections.
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