India’s main opposition BJP has risen like a phoenix from the depths of despair.
As the leads poured in on Friday morning, it was clear that the party is steaming ahead to its biggest victory in 30 years. This, after two losing two elections in a row – the party was able to mop up only 116 seats in 2009.
Today, the BJP on its own is on course to win more than the 272 which it needs to gain a simple majority, and its 28-party coalition is leading the vote count in over 300 seats.
Update: From an SMH article:
“It’s a tsunami … the BJP has levelled the Congress and this is a new era in Indian politics,” BJP chief media spokesman Srikant Sharma told Fairfax Media.
“The Gandhi family is finished. They are no longer a force in Indian politics. India has moved past them, they are history,” he said.
The Congress Party, which has led India since independence, fell below the 10% representation in Parliament to even qualify as the official “Opposition.” BJP have an outright majority.
Tunku Varadarajan, [url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/16/modi-crushes-gandhi-in-india-s-election-landslide.html]writing at the Daily Beast[/url], is inclined to hope this will be good for India. Modi’s leadership of Gujarat has brought growth rates in sharp contrast to the rest of India.