It is food "stupid"..
Ruling Party Defeated in India Vote
Saturday, 28 November 1998
N E W D E L H I , I N D I A (AP)
VOTERS HAVE rejected India's ruling party in three crucial state elections, a
rout that could destabilize the federal government.
After results were tallied Saturday, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
said voters who cast their ballots Wednesday appeared to want a change,
and admitted defeat for his his Bharatiya Janata Party in three of four states
to the opposition Congress party.
A regional party was leading in a fourth state, where the BJP did not
contest elections.
Vajpayee insisted the results would have no bearing on the stability of his
8-month-old federal government - but others saw the BJP's rout as a
referendum on its rule and said defeat could lead to infighting with its 18
coalition partners.
"It's clearly a vote against the BJP's policies, the poor performance of the
government," said Mamta Banerjee, a leader of the BJP-allied Trinamul
Congress, who said her party would stick with the BJP - for now.
There were even those in the BJP who hinted that the federal government's
performance was to blame.
"The voters did not defeat us; the BJP worked for its own defeat," said
Delhi's outgoing BJP chief minister, Sushma Swaraj.
It also was a key test for Congress' new leader, Sonia Gandhi, widow of
slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and torchbearer of the dynasty
that has ruled India for most of its 51 years of independence.
Gandhi has focused on rebuilding the Congress Party since she emerged
from seclusion early this year to campaign in national elections. She was
later named president of the party that was once led by her husband, his
mother Indira Gandhi, and Indira's father Jawaharlal Nehru.
Congress could win two-thirds of the seats in the states of Rajasthan and
New Delhi, hitherto considered the BJP strongholds. Bucking opinion
polls, the Congress also managed to retain power in the central state of
Madhya Pradesh. A regional party was likely to form a government in
Mizoram.
"The BJP has lost the goodwill of the people. Its eight-month-rule has been
marked by sheer incompetence, bickering and inability to govern," said
Natwar Singh, a Congress leader.
For now, Congress said it had no immediate plans to unseat the federal
government, although the victories might eventually prompt the party to
woo enough lawmakers in federal Parliament to unseat Vajpayee.
"This can't be put aside as a local issue," said Salman Khursheed, another
Congress leader. "This is an approval signal from the people."
More than 600 seats were contested in the voting for about 5,000
candidates from dozens of political parties. Final results were expected
early Sunday.
Skyrocketing prices for vegetables and foodgrain were the main issue,
wiping out any credit the BJP may have earned for the highly popular
nuclear tests it conducted in May.
The election was the first political test for the BJP since it took office eight
months ago. |
