Democratic Coalition Sweeps Congressional Elections in India

By Michael Burgevin

The democratic coalition led by the Indian National Congress cruised into victory yesterday during India’s parliamentary elections, catapulting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into his second term in office during the world’s largest democratic elections. India’s 714 million eligible voters sent a strong message of party trust says Manmohan Singh, the country’s first full-term Prime Minister to be reelected in over 40 years. “The people of India have spoken with great clarity. They've expressed their support for Congress's visionary leadership. We have given this country a strong, stable government at a time when the world is danger. Today, we stand as one nation.”

Having won 260 of the 541 lower house seats, Singh will need to recruit only 12 allies outside his party in order to obtain a parliamentary majority. The news comes as a hard blow to the opposing Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP won only 160 seats, far below most expectations. “[We] accept the mandate of the people of India with all humility,” announced senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. “Something certainly did go wrong.” The communist coalition suffered an even greater loss, losing many seats and its position as a Congress Party ally.

A driving force behind the Congress Party’s triumph was Rahul Ghandi, son of party leader Sonia Ghandi. Rahul was influential in winning over the youth vote, flying 54,000 miles and addressing 120 rallies around the country during the campaign. “My job as I see it now is changing the politics of the country through the youngsters,” Gandhi, 38, told reporters amid victory celebrations. “We need organization of young people. That’s what we’re going to build in the next 3 to 5 years.” Singh has publically asked Rahul to sit on his cabinet. Ghandi has not yet responded to the offer.

Singh’s reelection comes as welcome news to President Obama, who is expected to rely upon Indian support in the fight against rising militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan. "By successfully completing the largest exercise of popular voting in the world, the elections have strengthened India’s vibrant democracy and upheld the values of freedom and pluralism that make India an example for us all," said Press Secretary Robert Gates in a statement yesterday. Gates went on to stress the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between the U.S. and India, and congratulated the Prime Minister in his reelection.