Asia-Pacific
INDIA
The End of a Dynasty
The only clear result of September's Indian elections is likely to be an end to the dynasty that ruled the country for more than four decades after independence, according to Meghnad Desai in New Delhi's Business Standard.
Personified by Jawaharlal Nehru, his daughter Indira Gandhi, and her son Rajiv, the Congress Party used to win an average of 350 seats in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, parliament's lower house. But economic stagnation led to an erosion of Congress's sup-port, and the party has been going downhill since 1989.
The charisma of Rajiv's widow, Sonia Gandhi, has slowed the decline, writes Desai, but Congress is expected to win no more than 180 seats, while the nationalist BJP could win as many as 210, still falling far short of a majority. "This third failure of Congress ... will signal the final end of the dynasty," says Desai. "The Nehru/Gandhi dynasty will hobble on, but its chances of ruling India again unaided are minuscule."
