Close of tight elections sends parties scurrying for alliances
Bombay (AsiaNews) - The world's largest electoral marathon is finally over. The closely- fought multi-phased elections held throughout the country ended Mon., May 10. The fates of the candidates are sealed till Thurs., May 13 when results will finally be declared, but the action is far from over.
Despite this being one of the longest campaigns ever, the candidates can barely rest. The power game has shifted to the backrooms and parlours where deals are cut and new partnerships minted to form coalitions among the 543 elected members of the Parliament.
The latest projections predict a hung Lok Sabha (Parliament), the NDA's tally likely to be 230-250. The Congress and its allies are likely to get 190-195, the Left parties 40-50 and others 60-70.
With most exit polls predicting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led-National Democratic Alliance (NDA) falling short of the required numbers, its search for partners is on.
The BJP leadership is taking no chances and is already drawing up a contingency plan if it doesn't take the required votes for the 272 seats needed to form a government at the Centre.
The NDA's bubble has burst, and the BJP has signaled its readiness to do post-poll deals and reach out to other players who might help to secure its numbers.
"We are the nucleus of non-Congress parties, and those who want to be part of it are welcome to join," BJP leader Arun Jaitley, the commerce and law minister, told reporters the night before the election.
Such alliances, which are rivals of Congress and carry the possibility of winning a couple of seats for the BJP, will do so at a high price.
The Congress too has begun to send feelers out to smaller parties now that the exit polls point to the possibility that lone ranger groups may hold the key to government formation. However, for the Congress the candidature of Prime Ministership is an issue and yesterday a senior leader suggested that they do not want to impose their choice for the prime ministership on their allies; instead, it would be decided by consensus.
In this widely hung-house scenario, the Communist Parties comprising the Left Front, the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) will be one of the key players, playing a critical role in inching towards the legendary 272 figure. The Left seems to be confident that the NDA would fall short of a majority to the Congress and allies with support from the Left and the Samajwadi Party (SP) who would forge an alliance. Interestingly, the SP had all along outmaneuvered the Congress and first proclaimed it would go it alone but on Sunday indicated that it could consider supporting a Congress-led government at the Centre.
In the likelihood of being a Hung Parliament the focus will be on the President of India and whom he will invite to form a Government. In 1996, the President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma invited the single largest party to form the government. Now President Dr. Abdu Kalam must invite the alliance that is capable of forming a stable, viable and secular government. "To get results in this country, we need a stable government, a government which can provide progress to this country and not worry about surviving all the time," said Calcutta businessman Ratan Khemani. Mumbai's main share index was down by more than 1.7 percent and has fallen by more than 6 percent since exit polls two weeks ago first suggested the possibility of a hung parliament. The value of the rupee has also dropped.
Analysts say the country is facing uncertain times. The political parties are worried that if there is a hung Parliament, they may have to face another election 18 months down the line.
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