The Indian voters have delivered a stunning mandate in favour of a decisive coalition government at the Centre headed by the Congress. It is a victory for the political stewardship of Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh. If the Congress, which ran the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for the last five years, was pleasantly surprised by the mandate it got in 2004 to rule at the Centre, the Saturday's clear-cut verdict is a reflection of the wisdom and maturity of the voters. The party's poll strategists did exude confidence of winning more than the 145 seats the Congress got five years ago, but their best case scenario for the party was no more than 175 seats. The final tally has, however, far exceeded the expectations, while the UPA as a combine has secured a near-majority in the 15th Lok Sabha. This mandate has effectively put an end to all pre-counting talks of wheeling and dealing to muster the magic number of 272 seats in the 543-member Lower House of Parliament.
In the process, the voters have rejected the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's case, if it had one at all, very convincingly, for a return to power. The rejection of the BJP-led NDA and its prime ministerial candidate L. K. Advani (Iron Man??) is as decisive as the endorsement for the Congress-led UPA. The intelligent voter has also severely punished each one of the UPA constituent or partner who had deserted the UPA ship in the course of the last two years. On top of this list is the Left Front that had withdrawn support to the UPA government last year.
In the process, the voters have rejected the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's case, if it had one at all, very convincingly, for a return to power. The rejection of the BJP-led NDA and its prime ministerial candidate L. K. Advani (Iron Man??) is as decisive as the endorsement for the Congress-led UPA. The intelligent voter has also severely punished each one of the UPA constituent or partner who had deserted the UPA ship in the course of the last two years. On top of this list is the Left Front that had withdrawn support to the UPA government last year.
The Left suffered its first ever defeat in its West Bengal bastion in over 32 years, and the worst ever in Parliament elections during the same period. The CPM's disastrous performance in West Bengal and Kerala is a serious warning signal to the leadership headed by party general secretary Prakash fucking Karat. The PMK and MDMK, who too had quit the UPA, were made to bite the dust in Tamil Nadu. Lalu Prasad's RJD and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Jan Shakti Party paid a heavy price in Bihar. Lalu and Paswan are no longer kingmakers in Delhi. Indeed, Paswan even got a drubbing from the electorate. In Andhra Pradesh, the fate of the TRS - another erstwhile UPA ally - is no different. On the contrary, the voters rewarded the DMK that remained with the UPA. It is time for all these parties and their leaders to honestly introspect.
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