[MENTION=46168]Statistikhengst[/MENTION]
Partial results are in. BJP lead National Democratic Alliance won overwhelming majority over Congress led United Progressive Alliance. This sort of clear mandate has not been seen in past four decades.
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The Gandhi dynasty that has dominated Indian politics for the past decade suffered a crushing blow on Friday. Corruption, misguided public policies and government paralysis caused Sonia Gandhis Indian National Congress (INC) party to lose more than 57% of its seats in the Parliament. Her son, the handsome jet setter Rahul Gandhi, appeared to be only minimally interested in assuming the reigns of power if Congress and its allies won. It was a long shot from the start. Instead, record voter turnout catapulted the 63 year old Narendra Modi and his BJP party to the helm of an India looking shed its image as a poor, crony capitalist country.
Out of the 543 seats in the lower house of Congress, BJP and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance won 336 of them while Gandhi and her allies kept just 59, their worst electoral rout ever.
Modi, or NaMo as he is called in India, now has a clear mandate to govern. The anti-corruption, pro-development governor of Gujarat state on Indias West Coast is seen by voters and the market as the countrys much-needed change agent. Although he is not officially the Prime Minister, it is without a doubt that BJP will choose him now that theyve won so many seats in the parliament.
Social media savvy Modi created a virtual Victory Wall Friday morning for voters to text, Tweet or post their well wishes on his Facebook page.
Modi seemed poised to win this election from the start, almost as if he was running against himself. From March 4 to the first of May, he racked up over 300,000 miles traveling throughout India while Rahul traveled less than 10,000 miles, according to media reports.
On Indian television, rallies were almost always pro-Modi. It was a wonder the incumbent party even showed up for a fight, because clearly this was no match. For BJP and Modi, it was a knock-out punch in the first round.
Indians are feeling celebratory.
Dynastic rule ends and democracy prevails in India, says Vinay Agarwal, 27, a Modi supporter from Hyderabad. The most deserved candidate takes the Prime Ministers chair. Hes gone from tea seller to the PM
amazing, Agarwal says of Modis younger days, when he helped his father and brother run a tea stand at a bus terminal in his home state of Gujarat.
The last three years has seen a marked downturn in Indias approval of Congress and its Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Fridays election results were a resounding rejection of the way Singh and Gandhi co-managed the country. Even though Singh was highly qualified to run Indias economy, Gandhi was considered the true power behind the throne.
Singh is an economist while Modis adult life has mainly been in politics. But Singh is seen as a failure in India, from an economic standpoint. Modi, on the other hand, is seen as the hero of Gujarat, a politician who helped build up a state devastated by an earthquake in January 2001. The state is now used as a development example.
And India needs development. It is the poorest of the big four emerging markets, with decrepit infrastructure, massive inequality, and a young demographic that wants to a shot at a better life. Modi played to that crowd, and the voters clearly believe him.
In Delhi, Singh and Gandhi were often at odds, which led to policy paralysis for years. Gandhis social programs helped alleviate pressure on Indias poor, but led to runaway inflation, especially on food prices. The 2G telecom scandal also hurt Congress, even though party members were not convicted of crimes associated with the national broadband spectrum bribery cases that totaled in the billions of dollars.
All of this put a huge magnifying glass on the government. Crony capitalism hurt Congress, says Shaili Chopra, a media personality in Mumbai.
The first order of business for Modi will be green lighting infrastructure projects and tackling corruption once his government is formed later next month.
The people of India are fed up with the government and demand change, says Anil Sardana, CEO of Tata Power in Mumbai. BJP will have to move quickly on infrastructure
particularly when you have competition from China breathing down your neck.
Investors are as pleased as ever with Modis win and his pending mandate in the Parliament. The Wisdom Tree India Earnings (EPI) exchange traded fund rose over 4% in the pre-market on Friday.
In India, Gandhi Dynasty Goes Out In Crushing Defeat - Forbes
