Economic reform, security key issues in deciding Congress victory

By Wu Qiang

NEW DELHI, May 16 -- With the decisive victory for the

Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in Indian general elections, the

714-million electorate of the country have given mandate for a stable government

in the country for another five years, said analysts.

This will no doubt help the UPA carry on with its economic reforms faster

without worrying about the pressures from the Left parties, and contribute

largely to South Asia's stability in the wake of last November's Mumbai terror

attacks, said the analysts in the wake of the near landslide victory for the

Congress and the UPA it is leading.

According to the political analysts, Congress is in fact expected to grab

some 190 seats on its own right, and the UPA will altogether get more than 250

seats.

The shortfall for reaching the 271 seat absolute majority for forming a

government will be met with help from some "not-so-demanding" myriad regional

allies, said analysts.

And, the final results will be crystal clear latest by Sunday morning as

counting is continuing for the 543-seat parliamentary seats across the country.

"Congress-led coalition's win clearly spells out people's mandate for a

government which will be able to steer the country when the whole world is going

through an economic turbulence. People know who to vote into power in these

times of recession. They want a stable government which will not buckle under

pressures from the Left parties which are averse to economic reforms," said

Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, a Delhi-based political analyst.

Moreover, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, an able economist, also played a

key role in the UPA's win.

"In these times of uncertainty, the voters know who to vote in to power.

Singh can handle the Indian economy better than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, as the former is an apt economist.

People want a prime minister who thinks about the country," said Ajay Singh, a

senior political science teacher with a reputed Indian university.

"This is also a vote for leadership -- Congress President Sonia Gandhi and

Manmohan Singh's leadership. Both of them have given good leadership to the

country. Moreover, major security concerns over growing instability in South

Asia, particularly in Pakistan with whom relations virtually strained after last

November's terror attacks, and the Congress can play a key role in maintaining

the regional stability," he added.

Another leading psychologist, K.K. Dutt, has also hailed UPA's victory as

"an excellent one".

"This will be a stable government now. I think it's clear this government

will last a full term," he said. People realized the need for a stable

government not only for India but for South Asiaas well, he added.

Not only stability, many have claimed that Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi also

played a key role in garnering the support of the youth voters across the

country. The young Gandhi is also expected to take a key ministerial portfolio

in the new government.

"Rahul Gandhi's poll strategy paid off well. Youth voters want a youthful

leadership to come up and Rahul Gandhi must be given the credit for this. He had

worked diligently to help secure a large number of youth voters," said Y.K.

Aggarwal, a Mumbai-based political scientist, who predicted UPA's win.

Meanwhile, the opposition BJP on Saturday conceded defeat.

"We accept this verdict of the people. When you lose an election it gives

rise to a debate within the party," said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

The Left parties also accepted defeat. "We have suffered a major setback.

This is a victory for the Congress and its allies who will now clearly form the

government," said Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of

India-Marxist.

However, thanking the Indian voters for voting the party to power for a

second term, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday told the media that the

people of the country know how to make the right choice. "People of India know

what's good for India," she summed up rightly.