By M Rama Rao, India Editor, Asian Tribune
New Delhi, 16 May (Asiantribune.com): Proving all 
Manmohan Singh - Rahul Gandhiforecasts wrong, Indian voters have returned the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to power. Manmohan Singh is all set to stake his claim on Monday for his second stint as the Prime Minister of India, shattering the Prime Ministerial ambitions of BJP heavyweight L.K. Advani and BSP supremo Mayawati and a host of other leaders.
The icing on the UPA victory cake is the drubbing the to the AIADMK led front which effectively punctured once for all the myth of LTTE sway over Tamil Nadu electorate. A media dispatch summed up the mood in Chennai thus: Celebration in DMK headquarters; guns fall silent in AIADMK - HQ Jayalalithaa’s pro-LTTE allies MDMK and PMK too fared badly with firebrand leader Vaiko (MDMK) tasting defeat in Virudhunagar. PMK settled for one seat.
BJP which entered the fray with gusto ended up some fifty seats behind the Congress led alliance. The results are far below expectations, Arun Jaitley, its chief strategist, said. ‘We accept the verdict with full respect’. His colleagues said anointing Narendra Modi, who is seen by a section as a Hindu fundamentalist, as a future PM candidate, has affected the BJP prospects and undermined the’ positive campaign’ of L K Advani, the ‘real’ priministerial candidate of the party and its allies.
Undoubtedly, the star loser of all in this election is Advani, who now appears doomed to be the Ivan Lendl of Indian politics - frequently a contender for the Holy Grail, but never getting it. Given his advancing age (80 plus), despite his good health, 2009 is his last electoral battle. He has changed the fortunes of BJP by turning to Hindutva and pushed it to the centre stage of Indian politics from the margins it was doomed from the start.
The Congress described its victory as a vindication of its policies. The party registered a spectacular performance in Kerala where it routed the Left Front. Along with Trinamul Congress, it dealt a severe blow to the Marxists in West Bengal and ended their dream of playing the role of King Makers once again. The left rout in Kerala is largely because of open rift between Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan; In West Bengal, the vote was against the pro-industry policies of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his alienation of Muslims.
Stablity Factor
The Congress party has swept Delhi ( seven out of seven on offer), did exceedingly well in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and more than doubled its tally in UP. The showing in Uttar Pradesh was indeed very impressive where it went solo much against conventional advice. It has won 21 seats, its biggest ever win in more than a decade and the victory signaled the return to the Congress fold of Muslims who have deserted it after the fall of Babri Masjid in 1992.
In the last election in 2004, the Congress had won nine seats while the BJP bagged a paltry 10. Now the BJP also made impressive gains.
Noted Journalist Dilip Padgonkar interpreted the UP result that it signalled the revival of national parties for the first time after Mandal phenomenon, which had reduced them to the status of satellites of regional parties.
The election was a big setback to Mayawati of the BSP who has lined up big plans for a nation-wide splash. BSP is the only party to have contested all the 543 seats across the country, but it fared poorly when compared to its main rival, Samajwadi party (SP) thereby indicating that social (vote) engineering has lost steam.
The craving for stable government appears to have propelled the electorate to turn to the Congress minus its Left baggage.
Sharad Pawar, the NCP leader and a silent hopeful of PM’s seat said: ‘People are confident that only the UPA can provide a stable government and with the results and trends available so far, there should be no hindrance to formation of a stable government’.
The India Inc has welcomed the poll verdict, saying the mandate is for a stable government that could pursue the economic reforms faster. Leading economists like Rajiv Kumar, Abhijit Sen, and Saumitra Chaudhuri, said the return of UPA would improve business and investment climate.
Noted industrialist Vijay Mallaya said the poll outcome is a vote for stability... UPA need not worry about hotch-potch partners. Congress can clearly pursue its policies without the need to convince the Left".
Rahul Factor
Congressmen like to credit the turnaround in the party’s fortunes to Rahul factor in particular. Rahul Gandhi, 39, who is seen as the successor to Manmohan Singh in the Prime Minister’s office, came on the scene as a new youth icon. His mission was to reach out to the youth to rebuild the party particularly in the crucial north Indian states of UP and Bihar.
‘This (outcome in UP) is a turnaround and credit for this goes to Rahul...his tour has been extensive and this is a result of his hard work’, veteran leader and party treasurer, Motilal Vohra, said.
Rahul travelled nearly 87,000km in 35 days and addressed 122 rallies across the country repeatedly reminding the need for young people to participate in the political system.
Amongst the prominent winners is Shashi Tharoor, a former UN diplomat, who was declared elected from Thiruvananthapuram in his very maiden entry into politics. He is tipped to head an important portfolio in the new government, most likely the foreign office, presently held Pranab Mukherjee, who also won.
Home Minister P Chidambaram has won in his home constituency, Sivaganga, after a recount. This is his seventh victory. A notable loser is Ram Vilas Paswan, of the Lok Jansakti, in Bihar.
An analysis of the Congress strategy shows that the party undertook willingly two great risks – one break with the Left and going solo in UP and Bihar while projecting itself as a party of next generation. The first strategy was of Manmohan Singh. The second input came in from Rahul Gandhi. Both gambles have paid off.
Manmohan Singh is the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after a full five-year term. He has attributed the Congress show to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. He asked all political parties to forget their past disputes and stand one as a nation.
Results at 6PM:
The Congress led UP has won 167 seats and is leading in 91 constituencies.
The BJP led NDA has won 109 seats. It is leading in 52 other constituencies. The Communists and its allies in the Third Front won 45 and is leading in 24 constituencies. Others have won 26 seats.
Orissa: The Biju Janata Dal of Chief Minister Navin Patnaik has won a third term.
Andhra Pradesh: Y S Rajasekhara Reddy led the Congress to victory in the assembly elections.
-Asian Tribune-.
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