DJ_KiDDvIcIOUs
Avenger
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India's Congress Party, which has ruled the country for a decade, conceded defeat on Friday to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's leader, will be India's next prime minster.
Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party was winning in enough seats in the lower house of Parliament to exceed the 272-seat majority needed to create a government without forming a coalition with smaller parties, the Election Commission said.
The outcome was a crushing defeat for the Congress party, which is deeply entwined with the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty that has been at the center of Indian politics for most of the country's post-independence history.
Modi's slick and well-financed campaign promised a revival of economic growth and took advantage of widespread dissatisfaction with the scandal-plagued Congress party. Although he has focused strongly on the economy, Modi has given some hints of his foreign policy leanings, saying the BJP wants to strengthen India's strategic partnership with the U.S. and build on the foundations laid by the last BJP prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The last time any single party won a majority in India was in 1984, when an emotional nation gave Congress a staggering victory of more than 400 seats following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
For the young Indian voters, the priorities are jobs and development, which Modi put at the forefront of his campaign.
Congress, which has been in power for all but 10 years of the country's history since independence, has been plagued by repeated corruption scandals. Friday's results showed Congress leading in only 42 seats, its worst showing ever.
There was a record turnout in the election, with 66.38 percent of India's 814 million eligible voters casting ballots during the six-week contest, which began April 7 and was held in stages across the country. Turnout in the 2009 general election was 58.13 percent.
Modi's campaign was seen by many as a media and marketing coup for a man whose background ties him to bloodshed in Gujarat, where communal rioting in 2002 left more than 1,000 people dead, most of them Muslims. Modi is accused of doing little to stop the rampage, though he denies any wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime.
Modi was denied a U.S. visa in 2005 for alleged complicity in the riots, although as prime minister he would be virtually assured a visa.
The Obama administration started mending fences in February, when, for the first time in Modi's decade-long tenure as the top official in Gujarat state, the U.S. ambassador met with him. Still, Modi, a Hindu nationalist, is widely seen as a divisive figure and critics have often questioned whether he can be a truly secular leader in a country with many faiths.
Sreeram Chaulia, a political analyst and dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs, said the BJP's image as a purely capitalist, pro-business party resonated across India. That image contrasts with Congress, which is considered more of a welfare party, mixing capitalist reforms with handouts for the poor.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/india-opposition-wins-landslide-early-tally-shows
This was the largest democratic election ever held in the world so it is kind of a big deal. In terms of the US this would be like the Democrats running the US for over a decade and then being defeated by the Republicans. One of the campaign promises Modi ran on was to put a toilet in every home since, believe it or not, people pooping in the streets is not uncommon in India and even led to a public service announcement to try and deter people from doing so. Only time will tell if this move with have the impact so many young voters are hoping for