Unsettled India

After a campaign marred by ethnic violence, electoral fraud and voter fatigue, counting finally starts today (Monday) in the fifth Indian election in two years. Whatever the result, it is unlikely to alleviate the country's problems or provide the strong government India so desperately needs to lead it out of its present political morass.

The process has merely heightened the sense of deja vu which has hung over the poll from the beginning. Little over half of the 605 million electorate bothered to vote, an understandable response less than a year from the last election. It is virtually certain that the people will again face a hung parliament of uncertain duration, cobbled together by flimsy and uneasy regional alliances.

Until India frees itself from ineffective coalition governments incapable of lasting the full term of office, the economy will continue to stagnate and investor confidence will ebb away. The world's largest democracy desperately needs strong leadership and although the BJPs image is tarnished by fears of Hindu extremism and doubts over its commitment to a secular state, there is no doubt that it is gaining rapidly in popularity.

It may be the only party capable of breaking the political deadlock of the past decade. In its debut in 1984, the BJP won two seats to the 415 won by the Congress party. A current exit poll predicts that this time around it will take 244 seats, making gains in all parts of the country.

Like most political parties, the BJP might have proved more pragmatic if given genuine power to rule, but this election will not affirm that hypothesis. It may simply show once more that coalition government in India has a limited lifespan.

-- South China Morning Post