Posted on 05/13/2004 8:33:06 PM PDT by TigerTrails
In a stunning political shift, Indian voters have decisively rejected the governing Hindu nationalist party and the coalition partners that have kept Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in office since 1998. Liberalizing economic policies carried out under Mr. Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party governments have given India statistically impressive economic growth. Yet in a country where poor people vote in large numbers, most of them remain unimpressed.
Along with the coalition's drubbing came the equally unexpected revival of the long-fading Congress Party under its Italian-born leader, Sonia Gandhi. Mrs. Gandhi, the widow and daughter-in-law of assassinated prime ministers, capitalized on her family name. But she also benefited from uneasiness over economic change and a backlash against the B.J.P.'s religious divisiveness.
If, as now seems likely, Congress leads the next government, it should press ahead with market reforms while broadening their benefits. The party will also need to reinforce India's secularism, reassuring Muslims and members of other minority faiths that religious freedom will be fully protected. Another priority should be following through on Mr. Vajpayee's welcome steps to reduce tensions with Pakistan and to resolve the Kashmir conflict peacefully. With India and Pakistan both armed with nuclear weapons, this issue, which has sparked repeated full-scale wars, cannot be left to fester.
Mr. Vajpayee can generally be proud of his six years in office. The important exception was his 1998 decision to test and deploy nuclear weapons, which almost immediately led Pakistan to do the same. He has been a moderating force within his party, and history is likely to judge his economic policies and his diplomatic initiatives favorably. As the leader of the longest-serving non-Congress Party government, Mr. Vajpayee helped lead India toward a more competitive multiparty democracy.
Even if Mrs. Gandhi becomes prime minister, these elections results do not mark a return to Congress Party dominance. India's voters can now choose between two national parties and a multitude of regional and caste-based groups. This sometimes results in weak coalition governments and stop-and-start reforms. But it demonstrates the underlying vitality of India's democracy.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
With the corrupt socialist Congress Party coming back the Indian IT revolution could be gutted.
silver lining?
I wonder if this copuld be our old buddy Jai in mufti?
The sorry mf'er got banned. These islamists are such creeps. Lie and lie and lie...and not a single pang of guilt or remorse about it....
The NYT's editors continue to set new standards in self-important and egomaniacal behavior. Not content to hold court and advise merely their American subjects, they now deign to advise a billion Indians. What a bunch of delusional jackasses.
Election, surprising result, new government _ hasn't there been a number of such outcomes around the World recently?
Everybody in India GOT THAT ???
How did we ever get along without NYT's help?
Heh, India just prevented itself from rising to a 1st world nation.
Then the Islamic attacks start.
I knew TigerTrails was a troll ....he just got banned. Good riddance!
Arroyo won big.
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