Dear Friend:
I appreciate the well articulated take on the Indian election but, vehemently oppose the point of view presented. The overwhelming national mandate by the populace of India to BJP led National Democratic Alliance is not based on hindu identity but a vast bank of major flaws with the incumbent government.
There has been a saying for a very long time that " India's growth is not due to the government but despite it". This tongue and cheek insult to the leadership has long been a common sentiment among the massive emerging middle class in India. This phrase is an embodiment of the decade long stifling imposed on an aspiring young country. Congress would have been long defeated if a significant focused opposition was ever presented. And to experience this discontent, we do not need to look elsewhere, ample threads exist on this very forum where eminent members have time and again expressed their displeasure over, gross corruption, institutional inaction, weak and indecisive leadership, spineless foreign policy, and the culture of reprimand that has seeped into the bureaucratic structure leading to zero ownership of reformative policies.
This public anger is not just limited to certain Indian members on this forum but indicative across the demographic structure they represent in their geographical and social scale of India. Series of early indicators of this anti-incumbent sentiment was consistently represented in the events that unfolded in last few years, Medical Strike, India Against Corruption AAP etc were precursors for India demanding decisive reforms in the political leadership which now the people realized is the root cause of issues plaguing the development of people of India. Narendra Modi and his style of policy is exactly what appeals as the solution needed by the country, so much that even in 2009, there were mellow voices suggesting him to be the prime runner. More than the party choosing a candidate, this election chose Modi to be prime candidate. If some one like Advani was chosen instead, the outcome would have been the exact opposite.
Narendra Modi; started as Sangh Pracharak, (volunteer corp of RSS); and in his development he was associated with the Jan Sangh, and later BJP, and if you look closely he is known to be a master strategist for BJP. Within his experience the aspirations of people is very well known to him along with his core advisers. To paint him just by the events of the godhra riot's is obfuscation of the policies and agenda which the country voted on. Modi even to his critics like me, represents strong leadership and that is exactly what he promised to provide.
BJP led NDA fought a three pronged election where they presented strong decisive pro business environment which aligned them with Corporate sector, traders, big farms and the upper middle class. BJP also promised transparent government, Economic development and decisive leadership which found overwhelming support in the middle class of India, And the third most important issue was small business promotion, tax reforms, project execution, and highlighting the failures of the UPA2 ensured acceptance in the lower economic strata. Pre poll alliances and good execution in selection process of candidate ensure better representation of lower caste communities aligning themselves with the realities of remote rural demographics.
On the flip-side, taking a card from the AAP's delhi success, Congress and it's ill fated leadership ran a completely negative campaign of irrelevant issues, hapless agenda, hit and run remarks. Now a negative campaign can only take you to a certain length, which seems to be 42 seats, But when compared to a recipe of a well focused, well planned developmental agenda that promises measurable and quantifiable change, the selection of the Indian public is fairly a very simple one...
I can't help but draw a similarity between your view and that of the incumbent government's, where the presumption is that the population of India will vote on irrelevant issues of vote-bank appeasement instead of development. Suggesting the cumulative mandate of an 800 million strong electorate as just a Hindu vote is completely oblivious to the aspirations of India.
Regards.
