INDIAN ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS – A VICTORY FOR RAHUL GANDHI

INDIAN ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS – A VICTORY FOR RAHUL GANDHI

Elections to five State Assemblies in India have just concluded when elections for another five states are due. The results are already out and the ruling Congress Party can have immense satisfaction in the results. Congress feared that it may face a jolt because of the raging Spectrum scandal. But it fared well. It retained power in Assam – its third consecutive win. The Congress was victorious in West Bengal along with its ally Trinamool Congress headed by the mercurial Mamata Bannerjee. It captured power in Kerala by defeating the Left government of Communist Party of India (Marxist) albeit by slender margins. It lost elections in Pondicherry but only to a breakaway faction of the Congress. In Tamil Nadu Congress had no stake yet it saw its electoral ally DMK tasting defeat at the hands of its arch enemy AIADMK headed by the charismatic Jayalalitha.

The loss to the DMK is not a shock. In Tamil Nadu State, once in five years in alternate elections, the DMK and the AIADMK exchange power. Going by this trend, the DMK is sure to capture power in 2016 and Karunanidhi will become Chief Minister for the sixth time at the ripe age of 92. In Pondicherry, it is a real victory for the Congress because after all N. Rangasamy is a Congressman and any time he may merge his factional party with the Congress. In Assam, the Congress has enhanced its strength and won for the third consecutive time because of the good works of Gogoi and also due to the youth appeal of Rahul Gandhi and the guidance of Sonia Gandhi.

Now it has become quite clear that the Spectrum scandal has been brushed aside by the people of India. Kapil Sibal stated in the Parliament that no scandal has ever taken place. The opposition and particularly the Left and the BJP made it as a big issue. Now the people have rejected the opposition and reinforced their faith in the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia. The elections are a personal victory for Rahul and Sonia. It is also a result that reinforces Indian people’s immense confidence in the honesty and efficiency of Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister. The Congress should easily defeat the opposition Left and the BJP in the 2014 Parliament elections and Manmohan Singh should become the Prime Minister for the third consecutive time.

The BJP has been trounced in all the five States. In Kerala, it was a question of Rahul Gandhi versus Achuthanandan. The intelligent Kerala people have opted for the leadership of the young Rahul Gandhi.

It is a victory for the Left also. The Left has been clamouring against the communal BJP. The Left is of the opinion that the Congress and the Trinamool Congress are secular parties. The Left always celebrates the victory of the Congress over BJP. This time in Bengal, the BJP has been trounced by the Trinamool Congress and the Congress. The Left considers this as a victory of secularism even though they have lost power in West Bengal and Kerala. Therefore they have welcomed the results and celebrating it.

Overall, it is joy all over for the Congress (because Spectrum scandal has been ignored by the people), DMK (because they will come to power in 2016), AIADMK (because they have captured power) and the Left (because secularism has triumphed over communal forces in West Bengal and Kerala). The only sad people are the BJP. Better luck to them next time.