UPA victory finds prominent coverage in foreign media

Results of the general elections in the world's largest democracy figured prominently in the international media, which termed the UPA victory as "surprisingly decisive" and said the stage is set for Rahul Gandhi to become India's premier in the next few years.     

"The Indian National Congress party and its allies sailed to victory Saturday, securing a strong mandate for the designated Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and boosting the fortunes of Rahul Gandhi, the heir to a political dynasty who spearheaded the winning campaign," the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.     

Meanwhile, The Economist said "reversing decades of decline, the Congress party has won India's month-long general elections by a bigger margin than its most optimistic followers had dared dream of".     

The Sunday Times said "the stage is set for Rahul Gandhi to become India's Prime Minister within the next few years after the ruling Congress party and its allies won an unexpectedly decisive victory in elections yesterday."    

Regarding Rahul Gandhi the Sunday Times also said, "Rahul, groomed for the leadership by Sonia, his politically shrewd mother, has been credited for his astute gamble to ditch old political allies in the swing state of Uttar Pradesh. The bold decision to go (for) it alone, repeated in Bihar, another key state, paid off and boosted Congress fortunes in two important regions of the country."

Boston Globe reported India election results in the following words "Congress - known as the Grand Old Party of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty - crushed the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, despite a slowing economy, last November's three-day siege of Mumbai, and a controversial nuclear deal with Washington that nearly brought down the ruling coalition last year."      

The New York Times said, "The Congress party’s showing vindicates the Prime Minister’s efforts to deepen a strategic partnership with the US at a time when the Obama administration is deeply concerned about security in the region, chiefly in Pakistan and Afghanistan."     

Meanwhile, the WSJ said, "A resounding defeat for the Bharatiya Janata Party in India's elections has put a big question mark on the future of a party that already has spent five years in Opposition."     

As per a blog entry in Businessweek a few significant trends have emerged from the "colorful and chaotic" elections like — Rahul Gandhi’s emergence as a leader in his own right, voter ambivalence towards reforms, the temporary end of the Left parties hold on national politics, the failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party among others.     

Interestingly, Manmohan Singh, a 76-year-old economist, is set to be the first Indian Prime Minister since Nehru to return to the office after serving a five-year term. But many expect Rahul Gandhi, who was re-elected to his safe seat in UP, will take over the job within a year or two.