India's Electoral Verdict 2009

The success of Congress led UPA in the recent Lok Sabha elections can be attributed to voters’ desire for continuity and stability but to insist that this verdict was the endorsement of all congress policies and the magic of Rahul Gandhi would be highly exaggerated. For few general elections such as those in 1977 (post Emergency) all general elections in India it is the provincial issues which determine the outcome. In Bihar the voters only supported and endorsed Nitish Kumar and the Congess plank of stability and continuity was never a decisive factor. Similarly in Orrisa Naveen Patnaik prevailed over the clean image of Manmohan singh. Why did the voters in these two satatea as well as in M.P and Chattisgarh opt for Congress in a National election? The Congress gained with the anti-incumbency factor in Uttarakhand and managed to win in Andhra Pradesh. In UP it was the triangular contest and sharp polarisation pf voters on caste lines which has resulted in the fractured verdict which has gained the Congress more than the charm of Rajiv Gandhi. The congress also gained in a way that this election was not taking place against the backdrop of deep discontentment among the electorate in general.