From tea seller to prime minister spurring a Seismic political shift
Narendra Modi thundered to victory on Friday as the newly-elected
prime minister in India’s election, with partial results showing that
the pro-business Hindu nationalist and his party trounced the ruling
Nehru-Gandhi dynasty in a seismic political shift.
Modi’s landslide, the most resounding election victory India has seen
in 30 years, was welcomed with a blistering rally on India’s stock
markets and raucous celebrations at offices across the country of his
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), where supporters danced, exploded
fireworks and gave out sweets. The BJP looked certain of a parliamentary
majority, giving the 63-year-old former tea-seller ample room to advance
economic reforms which were started 23 years ago by current Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh but stalled in recent years.
Singh’s Congress party suffered its worst ever wipe out, a big boost
to Modi’s goal of ending the dominance of the Nehru-Gandhi family that
has governed for most of the 67 years of independent India.Singh, whose
party looked set to win less than 50 of the 543 parliamentary seats at
stake, congratulated Modi with a telephone call.
Crowds surged around Modi’s car after he visited his mother’s home in
the western state of Gujarat, where he has been chief minister since
2001. He sent a message saying “India has won” that instantly set a
record as the country’s most re-tweeted Twitter post. With more than six
times the seats of its closest rival, Modi’s is the most decisive
mandate for a leader since the 1984 assassination of prime minister
Indira Gandhi propelled her son to office. Since 1989, India has been
governed by coalitions.
Markets soar
Responding to the news, Indian markets got off to a roaring start,
with therupee breaking below 59 to the U.S. dollar, an 11 month high,
and the benchmark stock index jumping 6 percent to a record high before
paring its gains.
Betting on a Modi win, foreign investors have poured more than $16
billion into Indian stocks and bonds in the past six months and now hold
over 22 percent of Mumbai-listed equities - a stake estimated by Morgan
Stanley at almost $280 billion.Unlike his predecessors, Modi will not
have to deal with unruly partners as he implements reform.
That could usher in profound economic changes, and he will try to
replicate his success in attracting investment and building
infrastructure in Gujarat, the state he has governed for more than 12
years.
Desire for change
India’s election was the world’s largest ever. Staggered over five
weeks, a record of more than 500 million ballots were cast from the
Himalayas in the north to the tropical south, with voters braving
blistering heat for a record 66 percent turnout. Since being named as
his party’s candidate last September, Modi has flown 300,000 km (186,000
miles) and addressed 457 rallies in a slick, presidential-style campaign
that broke the mould of Indian politics.
Modi contrasted his humble roots with the cloistered life of
privilege of his dynastic rivals.
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