In a stunning upset, the Congress Party topped the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win India's parliamentary elections. The results reflect the failure of the government's reform program to better the lives of the 70 percent of Indians who live in the countryside. Now Congress must see that the vast majority of Indians enjoy the fruits of progress. Retreating from reform is not an option; Indians deserve better lives, not misery shared more equally.
Going into the recent ballot, a BJP victory seemed certain. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had been in power for eight years. During that time, he ushered India into the nuclear club while managing to open peace negotiations with Pakistan. Most important, he oversaw reforms that yielded impressive economic results. They have propelled India into the ranks of the world's fastest growing economies, notching up 10 percent growth in the first quarter of this year and creating 1 million jobs annually. This success led the BJP to run on the "India Shining" platform.
The BJP had another angle of attack: the Italian origins of Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi. Ms. Gandhi, the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, is Italian born. The play to naked nationalism appealed to the party's hard core.