Indian voters give thumbs up to Congress

The biggest democracy in the world-India- went to the polls and gave a clear verdict for a stable government. 350 million people cast their votes and much against the predictions of the psephologists, the voters gave thumbs up to the United Progressive Alliance( UPA). The voting was conducted over five phases through electronic voting machines and the results were out in a flash on the 16th May.

In the last UPA government, the left parties( communists) were the stumbling block for any reforms. The voters this time around probably realized this and gave the present UPA( with congress being the main party & without the left parties) a clear mandate.The congress can celebrate the verdict but along with the victory comes a lot of responsibilities. The Indian public would now expect the government to go ahead with its reforms and take the country forward.

The immediate areas to be looked into would be Infrastructure development,handling of the huge fiscal deficit, Rural development, poverty alleviation through job creation and skill development. The government will have it's hands full but also has a great opportunity to prove it's worth.

Polling gets underway in the most populous democracy in the world-India

The first phase of the polling to nominate a party at the centre has come to an end today. By the time the other phases of the polling get over,it would be another month. There is a definite sense of uneasiness among the leading parties. Broadly there are three fronts in the fray-The United Progressive Alliance(UPA)with Congress as the main party,The National Democratic Alliance(NDA)with the BJP as the leading party and the third front comprising the Communist parties and Regional parties.

Regional parties are becoming stronger by the day and are likely to be the King makers in forming the Government at the centre.The first phase of polling has seen very poor voter turnout. Whether it is because of peak summer or a general apathy of the public remains to be seen. But the voters are getting fed up and frustrated with the parties for how little they have done or achieved.

I am pretty sure that none of the three fronts are going to get an absolute majority and it will be a hung parliament. But come mid May when the results are announced, one can see frenzied activities among parties having parleys to tie up an alliance. Individual parties would jump from one front to another to piggyback with the possible ruler of the country. Shame, principles and policies have no place in politics and shuttling to and fro to gain and lend favours are the norm.

With so much of "horse trading" likely to go on after the results, one hopes to have a "stable" government.