Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage Gandhi sweeps to power in shock win Thu 13 May, 2004 13:20
By Simon Denyer and Terry Friel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Gandhi dynasty has swept back to power on a shock wave of anger among millions of rural poor, who felt left behind by the country's economic boom and voted out the Hindu nationalist government. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee conceded defeat and would resign later on Thursday, Defence Minister George Fernandes told reporters after the Congress party and its allies swept the polls in the world's largest democracy. "We are on a mission. We have no regrets. We respect the mandate of the people," said Venkaiah Naidu, president of Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress, led by Sonia Gandhi and her children, Rahul and Priyanka, the new faces of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, could take power by next week for the first time since 1996. "A... secular coalition led by Congress should take the oath in the next few days," party spokeswoman Ambika Soni said. But a Congress coalition is likely to have to depend on the support of leftist parties, who registered their best performance yet. Analysts say the new government is likely to continue the reforms crucial for Asia's third-largest economy, but they might have to be redesigned to ensure benefits reach the poor and are not restricted to the urban upper classes. What this could mean, under pressure from the communists, is slower privatisations. Officials from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said, for example, they wanted more consultation with workers before selling state firms. Gandhi was due to meet Congress leaders later on Thursday night to discuss forming a government. The party quickly reiterated that it was as committed as Vajpayee to forging peace with old enemy Pakistan. A spokeswoman said Congress had "always held that the only way to resolve issues with our neighbours is through dialogue". Congress was written off before the poll, which Vajpayee called early to cash in on a surging economy, good monsoons and peace prospects with Pakistan. HEART-BROKEN But strong campaigning by the Gandhis, who drew massive crowds, and resentment that the benefits of growth and economic reforms were not reaching ordinary Indians, revived the party. "I am half heart-broken and half-stunned," said BJP senior official and campaign strategist Pramod Mahajan. Vajpayee's BJP and its allies lost more than a hundred seats in the 545-member parliament. According to the latest tallies, Congress and its allies were leading in 223 constituencies and the BJP-led coalition in 189. The left was ahead in about 60. Several government ministers, including Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, were losing their districts. As officials downloaded the 370 million votes cast on electronic machines over the phased three-week poll, Congress workers crowded into the party headquarters in New Delhi, dancing in the streets and beating drums. Financial markets, which had tumbled on fears that Vajpayee would squeak back at the head of an unstable coalition, reversed early losses as the size of the Congress win became clear. The rupee ended up nearly one percent from the day's low and the benchmark Bombay stock index closed 0.77 percent higher. Analysts said markets were pleased that the Congress appeared to have won a clear victory and there was little chance of instability in government. "Fears of a hung parliament have receded, and the market doesn't really care who forms the government, the Congress or the BJP, as long as it is a stable government which doesn't get dissolved six months down the line," said Dharmesh Mehta, broking chief at Enam Securities. Congress' gains, defying poll forecasts the BJP would remain the largest party in parliament, appears to firm Sonia Gandhi's claim to the prime ministership, despite her Italian birth. In an election where national issues were sometimes overshadowed by local concerns and state politics, major Congress gains in the large southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu proved critical to the party's turnaround. Vajpayee's biggest ally was thrown out of office in Andhra Pradesh on Monday in a landslide state election loss after his campaign slogan of "India Shining" failed to win poor farmers. Vajpayee, 79, put the BJP's hardline Hindu agenda on the backburner and campaigned heavily on a strong economy, low interest rates and the prospects of peace with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan after they came close to war two years ago. But the economic benefits have failed to reach the hundreds of millions living in crushing poverty in rural India, where electricity, jobs and clean water are still luxuries. And it was rural Indians who turned out to vote in decisive numbers, not the burgeoning middle class that has been the main winner from the boom, cheap loans and an opening economy. "What 'India Shining' are we talking about? We are dying hungry here," said Santram, a farmer just 70 km (45 miles) from the gleaming new malls of the capital. While Islamabad has said it will work on the peace process with whichever party comes to power in New Delhi, Gandhi has yet to establish Vajpayee's personal rapport with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Foreign-born Gandhi would face more difficulties in making concessions to Pakistan and a harder time getting hardliners on board at home. The vote count on Thursday was the culmination of a mammoth logistics effort across the world's second most populous country, where more than 670 million people were eligible to vote. Polling was held in five stages over three weeks to allow time to move one million officials and tens of thousands of police and troops around the almost 700,000 polling stations. ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
