The electorate has spoken .

No one could have predicted the results of Gen. elections 2004 . Not psephologists , not politicians , not even astrologers .

So how did this happen ? 2 months ago , the India Today opinion poll was giving the NDA a landslide 330 seats in parliament . They were riding on a wave of India Shining and the feel good factor . A lotta factors were in favour of the NDA . A good monson which had placated most farmers who constitute perhaps he largest electorate in the country . Strong performance of the country's major bourses , record foreign investment and a budgeoning forex reserve had made the industry optimistic and in a mood tto give the grand old man of Indian politics another shot at power . The service sector was growing at a pace unmatched by any other country in the world , and being the largest sector of the Indian economy , many of India's millions were direct benificiaries of this growth . So net net , the mood in the country appeared to be pretty optimistic , which is always good for the incumbent government .

And now THIS ??????

I was watching this interesting poll discussion on NDTV a few days ago , I think it was after the second phase of polling , which was predicting a hung parliament with the NDA getting about 260 seats . And this interseting graphic on screen showed that the NDA's tally according to opinion polls had taken a dramatic dip from 290+ to under 270 in a matter of just 1 DAY . This was Lalji Tandon's birth day , the day on which about 20 innocent women were crushed to death in the infamous saree distribution stampede . Ill just bet Lalji Tandon is avoiding most senior BJP functionaries for now , because he appears to be the most likely scapegoat in this fiasco for the NDA .

I feel pretty low after this result . Its not that Im a diehard BJP supporter or any thiung , but I am a huga fan of ABV . I think that he is one of the greatest PMs we have ever had , along with Indira Gandhi . Dont ask me why , but I wouldnt put Nehru up there with the two of them . ABV is a true statesman . The way he graciously accepted defeat and promised to "work with" the new congress govt. says it all . Here is a man who has given his entire life to public service . Under his leadership , India has gone from strength to strength in so many fields . I cant help but feel sorry that the electorate has rejected all his accomplishments of the past 5 years in such a manner .

But Im also looking to the future . Im not very comfortable with Sonia Gandhi as our new PM , not because she is of foreign origin , but because she is a novice and because in her early days in India , she never considered herself to be an Indian . This assumption is based on that article in the Indian Exp. abt how she had Italian security guards to protect her children , bcoz " SHE DIDNT TRUST RAW " .
But its not in my hands . Im optimistic that economic reforms will continue bcoz of the presence of Manmohan Singha and P.Chidambaram in the Congress high command , both of whom have proved to be excellent Finance Ministers in the past . Eco. reforms may slow down for a year , bcoz of teh presence of the Left in the new govt. , but Im sure it will pick up after a year , bcoz u cant keep Singh and Chidambaram , the faces of economic reform , down .

So lets wait and watch . Will reforms continue ? Will the interests of the Industry and the middle class be sacrificed to placate farmers and labour ? Will this govt. continue for more than a year ?

Only time will tell .......


da STIFFmaester