India, the world’s largest democracy will give its mandate to a party or coalition for a term of 5 years to form the 15th Lok Sabha or People’s House. About 714 million People would be exercising their franchise to choose their representatives. The elections will be held over 2 months in 5 phases. The five phases are to be held on 16th April, 23rd April, 30th April, 7th May and 13th May. The only state to have voting on all the five days is the state of Uttar Pradesh, which borders New Delhi. Electronic Voting Machines would be used throughout the country and there would be no manual voting.

The scale and magnitude of the Indian elections would be unimaginable for those unaware of the Indian landscape.

Three Fronts

The days of one party rule are over in India. India has well and truly entered the era of coalition politics. And as ‘she’ moves ahead learning the rules, there are some minor hiccups. One of the major challenges facing Indian politics at the moment is the overflowing ambition of regional parties. And this has directly resulted in a flood of Prime Ministerial candidates.

The two main alliances are the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA), headed by the Congress and BJP respectively. The prime ministerial candidates for both fronts have been announced and are Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. L.K. Advani. Aged 81 and 76, they, in actual terms, do not represent young India. But, whoever said, “Age is a matter of heart “was absolutely right. Men of impeccable demeanour and values, they have shown their worth and credence.

UPA

The UPA came to power in 2004 with the Left supporting from outside. When the left deserted it on the Indo-US Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Act, the U.P based Samajwadi Party came to its rescue. Though the Congress party is undergoing a recovery process, the party has seen a consistent period of decline. However, with able leaders like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram and astute political manoeuvring by Sonia Gandhi, the party has started gaining lost ground. ‘Jai Ho’ song from Slumdog Millionaire movie has been bought over by the party to promote its ‘Aam Aadmi’ (Common Man) stance.

NDA

The BJP led NDA lost power in 2004 polls. A.B. Vajpayee headed the NDA government from 1998- 2004. Labelled as non-secular by opposing parties, the BJP has partners such as the Shiv Sena (Maharastra), JD {U} (Bihar) and Akali Dal (Punjab). The party on its own is predominantly strong in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

Third Front

It is for the first time since Independence that a pre- poll Third Front has been formed. The high priest of Third Front is CPM. This left party has persuaded a number of regional parties to come together to provide an alternative to both Congress and BJP. That they have no PM candidate speaks of the difficulty in forging a consensus on the leader who will lead the coalition. This suspense erodes its appeal of stability plank before the voters. Regionalism can be good for grassroots development at the state level, but it can be an albatross around the neck as far as federal elections are concerned. In almost every state, there is at least one party which is as, if not more, prominent as a national party.

Mayawati

One of the most pre-dominant regional leaders is Ms. Mayawati, espousing the cause of the backward and weaker sections of India. She currently rules the largest Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The incumbent Chief Minister is playing for high stakes as future Prime Minister. Out of the 543 seats in the Indian lower house or the Lok Sabha her state has a share of 80 seats. UP had been seeing the demise of national parties and rise of smaller parties such as the BSP, SP etc. Mayawati hopes to win 50-60 seats in UP and become the next prime minister of India with some obliging allies.

Key Issues

As far as internal politics is concerned, the Congress and BJP are the principal players. While the the BJP calls the Congress pseudo-secular, the latter calls the former communal. While the minority policies of these parties differ, they are in-tune with national considerations and national sentiments.

In foreign policy, both the BJP and Congress have expressed proximity with the US on matters of national and international importance. Manmohan Singh cemented good relations with the US when he signed the Indo-US Treaty on civil nuclear co-operation that were started by Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Russia as a very old friend holds a place of importance in every Indian’s heart. The equation with China is treated as ‘cautious’ and ‘over cautious’ by the Congress and BJP respectively.

The economic policy as initiated by Dr. Manmohan Singh in 1991 as Finance Minister is here to stay and no matter which government comes to power, it is irreversible. India is moving towards a phase of privatization and the governments’ role in Industry would not be beyond ‘Policy Formation’ ever again. The situation is different on the foreign policy front.

The left parties withdrew support to the government on the United States – India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Non-proliferation Enhancement Act issue. The Left is politically inclined towards China instead of the US. If the Left attains a position of critical significance in the next government, chances of a thaw in Indo-US relations and even a cancellation of the Indo-US nuclear agreement can’t be ruled out. The world is watching the polls and expecting profound changes in internal and external policies if there is a regime change.