A New Era For India

Flag of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a national political party in India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

India now starts its journey to becoming a developed nation. That is what this clear victory for Modi is about. Modi has won, fair and square. And this reads to me like a mandate that will last 10 years. I am happy for him and the country. This is an India that China and Pakistan will take seriously.

The Congress has not only lost its role in power, it might also have lost its role in the Opposition. What a day! The BJP has become the new Congress. I see the BJP crossing the 300 mark on its own in 2018. The NDA will cross the 350 mark in 2018.

The BJP has swept the Hindi heartland. It is a total sweep in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. This is remarkable in the face of a top performing Chief Minister like Nitish Kumar. Bihar suddenly has become the state to watch for. Nitish now has his back against the wall.

The BJP has not only wiped out the Congress, but also the Left. It has snatched the Left's place in West Bengal.

Mayawati, Nitish and Mulayam are out. And there goes the so-called Third Front with them.

But Jayalalita, Patnaik and Mamata have swept their states more than Modi has swept India. And I see the three forming the nucleus of the Opposition in Delhi.

I keep thinking about Nitish. I am not in a hurry to say he took a misstep in breaking his alliance with the BJP. The lesson there is, you can not win if you are not even running. Clearly he was not for Rahul for PM. And he clearly was opposed to Modi. And he clearly was not running. These three dimensions of clarity cost Nitish his Bihar.

Sushil Modi claims the JD(U) might undergo a vertical split. That very well might happen. Or not. His government has a smaller chance of falling than the Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh. One year is a long time in politics. And it is possible Nitish will come back in Bihar with a 60% majority in the state.

But I don't see the SP coming back in Uttar Pradesh.

In hindsight it does look like Nitish took a misstep. He could have stayed with the BJP, given himself two more terms as Chief Minister, and then he might have been the NDA candidate for Prime Minister.

But enough about Bihar. On to Modi. This is his day, and his victory to celebrate.

I think Modi has what it takes to put India on a path to becoming a developed nation.

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