Political stability has been a rare commodity in India of late. In the last three years, the country has had five governments and three general elections. The cycle seems to have been broken in the national elections held five weeks ago, however. As the final results come in, it looks as if Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee will be the first incumbent Indian prime minister in nearly three decades to be voted back into office. His win could prove to be a soothing influence on India's fractious politics and holds out the hope of economic reform for the country and of stability in South Asia.
Mr. Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party appears set to hold the 181 seats it had in the last session of the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament. Its 23 partners in the National Democratic Alliance will provide the rest of the votes that give the government a healthy majority in the 543-seat Parliament. Analysts expect the alliance to have at least a 20-seat cushion; the most optimistic projections give the coalition a 29-seat margin.
Some skepticism is in order. After all, Mr. Vajpayee's last coalition consisted of 24 parties, and it collapsed under the strain of managing such a disparate collection of politicians and their egos. In addition, the BJP's support seems to have peaked. It continues to be the biggest party in the coalition, but it clearly cannot govern without partners.