Modi promises to bring change in India

Narendra Modi, who won a landslide victory in India's general election on May 16, made a triumphant entry to the capital, Delhi. India, world's largest democracy, is still reeling from the scale of Modi's win. No party has won by such a margin since 1984.
Modi's victory was expected, but it has far exceeded all predictions including exit poll results, and, with existing allies, BJP has won as many as 336 of the 543 elected seats. The Congress party, which has been in power since 2004 and for all but 18 of the last 67 years, won its lowest ever tally of 44 seats. BJP's victory marked the first instance when a party other than Congress has got past the majority mark on its own steam. This is the largest anti-incumbency vote in India's history. The desire for change was driven by a huff against corruption and the sluggish economy, while riding on hope that Modi represented.
Modi is the first "backward" to have sailed into the country's top political office by making his caste identity an issue in the election. He is the first leader from a state who has captured power at the Centre by dint of his sheer personal appeal. Modi is an archetypal outsider, never having been part of the Delhi elite. He became PM candidate after overthrowing entrenched leaders in his party.
The elections saw around 100 million first-time voters cast a ballot. Modi's "Development For All" message appeared to have struck a chord with frustrated voters, particularly the young, across the nation.
The result exposed the limitations of the tactic of "secular" parties to thwart BJP by aiming for Muslim consolidation. The surge in support for BJP in West Bengal and Assam was also being attributed to the emergence of "Hindu" vote which Modi had stoked by raising the issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
The outgoing Congress-led government was hit by allegations of corruption, failure to rein in runaway inflation and faltering growth. India needs to create 10m jobs each year for new jobseekers alone, an area where the Congress officials admitted they had "difficulty". Others blamed the defeat on a failure to communicate the party's achievements in their 10 years in power.
Since being named as his party's candidate last September, Modi flew more than 185,000 miles and addressed 457 rallies in a slick, presidential-style campaign that has broken the mould of Indian politics. A huge social media effort reached out to voters across the nation. Modi received more than seven times the media coverage of his chief rival, one study showed.
However, relations between India's 150 million Muslims and the Hindu majority, as much as development, was a key theme as candidates traded accusations of seeking to win votes through targeting particular communities or raising sectarian tensions.
Modi has been accused of allowing, or even encouraging, riots in 2002 in the state of Gujarat, which he has run for 13 years, in which around 1,000 people, largely Muslims, died. A Supreme Court investigation found insufficient evidence to support the charges against Modi, who has always denied any wrongdoing.
Modi has appeared as a charismatic leader. His charisma is attributable not only to economic development in Gujarat, but his Hindu nationalist image also.
BJP victory is seen as an ominous sign for minority Muslims and progressive-secular groups. But election results reflect that a vast majority of Indians overlooked Modi's image as a Hindu bigot.
Point to be specially noted is, Modi in his election campaigns, called upon the voters to vote for BJP to bring change in India. He promised to replicate the Gujarat model across India. Besides, a large number of business people stood in favour of BJP, which signify, BJP's economic programmes attracted the voters more compared to Congress's.
Experts say the political landscape of India has been transformed. World leaders rushed to telephone the new premier. Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of neighbouring Pakistan, with which India has fought four wars, invited the new leader to visit. The US president, Barack Obama, did likewise, even though Modi was barred from the country less than 10 years ago under a law preventing entry to foreigners who had committed "particularly severe violations of religious freedom". The British Prime Minister David Cameron sent congratulatory message to Mr. Modi. So did other world leaders. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and other leaders, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda, Zia congratulated Mr. Modi on his great election victory.
On foreign policy issue, China and Pakistan figured prominently in Modi's campaign. But if Modi means what he said about illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, it will create grounds for new tension between the two countries. It may be recalled, the same issue left a negative impact during the last BJP rule.  Issues like transit, sharing of the Teesta water, firing on the border etc., will continue to figure in bilateral talks.  India's policy towards Bangladesh is not likely to undergo any major change.
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