The Great Indian Ballot Race
In some days the mandate of the I n d i a n electorate will be declared and the country of more than one billion will have a new government in place. How the dance of democracy ends will be a spectacular finale given the multi-party system that thrives in India. Apart from internal dynamics, the new government will also have a huge impact on the growing Indo- US relations which have seen some of its best times with Manmohan Singh led UPA government at the center. What with the signing of the historic nuclear deal and the bond it has formed with the US due to its common fight against terrorism.
The scale of the election though is mind-boggling. Spread over five stages, taking four weeks and involving 6.5m staff in 543 constituencies, 4,617 candidates, representing some 300 parties, will compete for the ballots of an electorate of 714 million eligible voters. In 828,804 polling stations, 1,368,430 simple, robust and apparently tamperproof electronic voting machines will be deployed.
The election comes amid the deepest global economic slump. India faces difficult choices as it seeks to escape the worst of the downturn. Voters have a chance to judge five years of government by a coalition led by the Congress party. The Economist has noted that India has presided over an unprecedented economic boom and has continued the course of cautious liberalization and globalization followed by its predecessors. It has succeeded in raising India’s international standing and, with its agreement on civil nuclear co-operation with America, has accomplished an important strategic tilt.
India’s parliamentary elections are taking place at a time when the world is at a crossroads and the country has emerged as a highly significant global voice.While at one level the elections are necessarily about domestic challenges such as economic development and security, at another level they are also about the role India can play in shaping the world as the largest pluralistic democracy. It is from the perspective of the role India ought to play on the global stage, especially in light of the global financial meltdown and associated opportunities for India and the world that it is important that a clear verdict emerge.
The country needs a clearly defined economic, social, political, educational, cultural and scientific agenda and the ability to execute it. And a fractured mandate, given its multi party system will only take it a step or two back than forward on the path of development.
India has fared better than most other countries in coping with the global crisis. It is still the second-fastest growing economy in the world and its banking sector has largely escaped the crisis that has plagued big banks in many other emerging markets.
Yet, India is not aloof from global financial problems and is facing challenges of credit flow, unemployment, loss of exports and investments. Still, the global economic slowdown provides an interesting opportunity for India. In relative terms, it can be used to bolster growth, initiate more development and job creation. And to have all of these and more it needs a strong leadership at top which can steer it towards the right course. A coalition government won’t do any good. Indians will have to come out in huge numbers, the aware, educated electorate that is and vote clearly for a party which can deliver on its promises.
FROM THE EDITOR
