Gandhi's Congress Take Surprise Lead in Election

[JCMach1]

THE LEFT MAY BE WINNING IN INDIA... THE BJP MAY GO DOWN TO DEFEAT!!!

EW DELHI (Reuters) - India's opposition, headed by the Gandhi dynasty, took a shock lead in early election counting on Thursday as millions of rural poor punished the government for leaving them out of the country's economic boom.


Two hours after officials began downloading 370 million ballots in the largest democratic vote on earth, the opposition Congress and its allies led in 207 seats, compared with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition's 195, NDTV television said.

Leftist parties, which traditionally side with Congress and could decide a close race for the 545-seat parliament, also made strong gains, leading in another 48 seats.

"We will form the government. There is no doubt about it," senior Congress leader Salman Khursheed told NDTV...

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=863588&tw=wn_wire_story

[Bhaisahab]

1. hey! the Congress is not a Left party!

its a centrist party. the left in india comprises of majors Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM). both parties stand to gain if the congress wins, since they are part of an alliance against the right-wing BJP.

[JCMach1]

4. Congress is in coalition with the other parties you named

Compared to BJP they are LEFT

[Jack Rabbit]

7. It appears that Congress will anchor a center/left coalition

From the BBC Online
Dated Thursday May 13 12:22 GMT (5:22 am PDT)

India government slumps to defeat

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is to resign as his governing BJP party faces defeat in India's general election.
More than half the results are out and the main opposition Congress party is well ahead of the BJP-led governing alliance which has admitted defeat . . . .
Projections of the final results on state television place the opposition Congress-led alliance ahead of the BJP and its allies.
But the Congress, led by Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, will have to seek support from smaller parties, including the Communists, if it wants to form the next government.

Read more.

[David__77]

8. CPI-M is the main left party is some of the country...

it rules West Bengal. But in other areas, there are small socialist offshoots of Congress, or socialist-oriented regional nationalist parties. The left is pretty fractured. There are also the CPI-ML parties and the old CPI of course. Congress is not leftist per se, but it does at least recognize a strong role for the state in social and economic development.

[ps1074]

2. CNNI breaking news

Ruling BJP concedes defeat in India parliamentary dlections.

They are just discussing it...

Prime minister will resign in 4 hours. Indian Congress party will be back in power.

[Bhaisahab]

3. not sure what to make of it...

the congress and the BJP, as nimmo would have put it, are like twiddle de and twiddle dum.
despite the surface differences.

[w4rma]

5. Ralph Nader? Is that you?

:hi:

[Bhaisahab]

6. u could say that...

we need a kucinich type person leading us.. not these career politicians who vacation in switzerland and leave the poor to face 45 degree celcius summers without water or electricity. dem bastards!