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| ‘We will take everybody along,’ Narendra Modi declares in victory speech in India | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| NEW DELHI — After a grueling campaign, economic reformer and Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi is set to become India’s next prime minister, with his opposition party sweeping to a landmark victory as vote tallying draws to a close. | NEW DELHI — After a grueling campaign, economic reformer and Hindu nationalist Narendra Modi is set to become India’s next prime minister, with his opposition party sweeping to a landmark victory as vote tallying draws to a close. |
| Modi, 63, chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, had campaigned on a message of hope and revitalization at a time when the country was dispirited by a stalled economy and a sense that its once-bright promise had dimmed. | Modi, 63, chief minister of the western state of Gujarat, had campaigned on a message of hope and revitalization at a time when the country was dispirited by a stalled economy and a sense that its once-bright promise had dimmed. |
| Friday’s results for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies forecast a crushing defeat for the governing Congress Party and its 43-year-old scion Rahul Gandhi, its chief campaigner. Across the country, voters heading to the polls said they were unhappy with corruption scandals and ineffectual leadership after 10 years of Congress Party rule under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. | Friday’s results for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies forecast a crushing defeat for the governing Congress Party and its 43-year-old scion Rahul Gandhi, its chief campaigner. Across the country, voters heading to the polls said they were unhappy with corruption scandals and ineffectual leadership after 10 years of Congress Party rule under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. |
| An ebullient Modi appeared late in the day at a victory rally in Vadodara, a town in Gujarat where he won a seat to Parliament on Friday. As the crowd greeted him with chants of “Modi, Modi, Modi,” he reveled in the mandate his party had achieved — a “clear majority” he called it — but pledged to leave no one behind in the days ahead. | |
| “We will take everybody along to run the country,” he said, promising “development for all.” | |
| Modi, the son of a tea seller, spoke with his eye firmly on history. He reminded his supporters that this is the first government that will be run by those born after India’s independence from Britain in 1947. | |
| “We didn’t have the opportunity to give our lives for the freedom struggle, but now we can devote our lives to good governance,” he said. | |
| Earlier in the day, Bharatiya Janata Party leaders held a victory news conference, swathed in saffron scarves bearing the party’s lotus flower symbol. They said the decisive victory reflected voter anger against the governing party and a desire for change. | |
| “This is a spectacular victory, a historic victory,” said the party’s president, Rajnath Singh, while asking his exuberant followers to be “restrained in this celebration of victory.” | “This is a spectacular victory, a historic victory,” said the party’s president, Rajnath Singh, while asking his exuberant followers to be “restrained in this celebration of victory.” |
| Across the capital, the governing Congress Party headquarters was almost deserted, with security officials and media outnumbering workers. The mood was somber. | Across the capital, the governing Congress Party headquarters was almost deserted, with security officials and media outnumbering workers. The mood was somber. |
| Rahul Gandhi, alongside his mother, Sonia, the party’s president, made brief remarks, accepting responsibility for the defeat of their party, which has dominated Indian politics for most of its 128 years. | Rahul Gandhi, alongside his mother, Sonia, the party’s president, made brief remarks, accepting responsibility for the defeat of their party, which has dominated Indian politics for most of its 128 years. |
| The new government has “been given a mandate by the people of our country,” Gandhi said. “The Congress Party has done pretty badly. There is a lot for us to think about.” | The new government has “been given a mandate by the people of our country,” Gandhi said. “The Congress Party has done pretty badly. There is a lot for us to think about.” |
| The telegenic Gandhi comes from a historic lineage of former prime ministers but had failed to connect with voters on the campaign trail and performed poorly in major television interviews. Gandhi is expected to hang onto his own parliamentary seat in Amethi, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh that has been a Gandhi family bastion for years. | |
| News that business-friendly Modi and his party were headed for a rout sent the Sensex, the Indian stock market, soaring, and the rupee strengthened against the dollar. | News that business-friendly Modi and his party were headed for a rout sent the Sensex, the Indian stock market, soaring, and the rupee strengthened against the dollar. |
| India's business community reacted with optimism to Friday's results, hoping that Modi could fulfill his campaign promises to jump-start the economy, create jobs and restart stalled infrastructure projects. | India's business community reacted with optimism to Friday's results, hoping that Modi could fulfill his campaign promises to jump-start the economy, create jobs and restart stalled infrastructure projects. |
| Modi had campaigned on his record of creating economic growth in his home state of Gujarat, but he faces steep challenges. In recent years the country’s growth rate and job creation have dipped, inflation has skyrocketed, and investors stymied by the country’s sluggish bureaucracy have either sat on their money or taken it elsewhere. | |
| “He is coming in with fresh ideas,” said Sidharth Birla, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “It will go a long way in removing the negative perception about India that had built up in the past few years.” | “He is coming in with fresh ideas,” said Sidharth Birla, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. “It will go a long way in removing the negative perception about India that had built up in the past few years.” |
| Friday’s vote count was the culmination of six weeks of voting in a country of 1.2 billion people, the world’s largest democratic exercise. A record 66 percent of the country’s 814 million voters went to the polls. | Friday’s vote count was the culmination of six weeks of voting in a country of 1.2 billion people, the world’s largest democratic exercise. A record 66 percent of the country’s 814 million voters went to the polls. |
| An early analysis of exit poll results this week by Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington suggested that Modi’s party had not only dominated the urban vote but also India’s rural areas, which had long been a bastion of the Congress Party. In addition, Modi also won the hearts of the country’s younger voters, a huge factor in a county where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 35. | An early analysis of exit poll results this week by Milan Vaishnav of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington suggested that Modi’s party had not only dominated the urban vote but also India’s rural areas, which had long been a bastion of the Congress Party. In addition, Modi also won the hearts of the country’s younger voters, a huge factor in a county where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 35. |
| Voters appeared to be looking beyond Modi’s Hindu nationalist leanings and his controversial past as a leader who failed to control riots when his state descended into religious violence more than a decade ago. | Voters appeared to be looking beyond Modi’s Hindu nationalist leanings and his controversial past as a leader who failed to control riots when his state descended into religious violence more than a decade ago. |
| “It is an important election because the trend in the counting shows that old ideas about caste, religion and region have not been relevant. By and large, it has been a vote for change, for development and for a decisive leader,” said Dipankar Gupta, a political analyst and author. “The youth across India have voted for change, and Modi represented that change.” | “It is an important election because the trend in the counting shows that old ideas about caste, religion and region have not been relevant. By and large, it has been a vote for change, for development and for a decisive leader,” said Dipankar Gupta, a political analyst and author. “The youth across India have voted for change, and Modi represented that change.” |
| Gupta noted that results showed little difference between India’s Internet-connected and increasingly sophisticated urban voters and the nearly 70 percent of the country that still lives in rural areas. | Gupta noted that results showed little difference between India’s Internet-connected and increasingly sophisticated urban voters and the nearly 70 percent of the country that still lives in rural areas. |
| “The aspirations of rural and urban Indians are similar,” Gupta said. “People in villages don’t want to just get out of poverty, but they want quality of life. This is something the Congress party has not understood. The old village economy is crumbling; people are getting educated and looking for opportunities outside agriculture. . . . That is what this election reflects.” | “The aspirations of rural and urban Indians are similar,” Gupta said. “People in villages don’t want to just get out of poverty, but they want quality of life. This is something the Congress party has not understood. The old village economy is crumbling; people are getting educated and looking for opportunities outside agriculture. . . . That is what this election reflects.” |
| Modi led one of the most ambitious, presidential-style election campaigns in Indian history, mobilizing an army of volunteers across India and running a 24-hour war room that helped him dominate social media and tailor his change message. He traveled thousands of miles in person and even appeared to voters at rallies as a hologram. | Modi led one of the most ambitious, presidential-style election campaigns in Indian history, mobilizing an army of volunteers across India and running a 24-hour war room that helped him dominate social media and tailor his change message. He traveled thousands of miles in person and even appeared to voters at rallies as a hologram. |
| According to Twitter India, Modi dominated 20 percent of all election-related chatter on Twitter, with 11.1 million mentions between January and May. In comparison, Gandhi was featured in only 2 percent of Twitter conversations about elections, or 1.3 million mentions for the same period. | According to Twitter India, Modi dominated 20 percent of all election-related chatter on Twitter, with 11.1 million mentions between January and May. In comparison, Gandhi was featured in only 2 percent of Twitter conversations about elections, or 1.3 million mentions for the same period. |
| Modi went to great lengths to reach out to the country’s first-time voters, whom Singh acknowledged at the news conference Friday. “The country's youth felt the impatience for change,” he said. | Modi went to great lengths to reach out to the country’s first-time voters, whom Singh acknowledged at the news conference Friday. “The country's youth felt the impatience for change,” he said. |
| Many of these voters celebrated in the streets, lighting firecrackers, dancing, singing and passing around candies. | Many of these voters celebrated in the streets, lighting firecrackers, dancing, singing and passing around candies. |
| First-time voter Mohan Chaudhary, 23, a student from rural Haryana state, painted an image of Modi on his face to celebrate the victory. He said he voted for Modi “because he has a vision for India and for the youth.” | First-time voter Mohan Chaudhary, 23, a student from rural Haryana state, painted an image of Modi on his face to celebrate the victory. He said he voted for Modi “because he has a vision for India and for the youth.” |
| “I hope Modi will revive the economy and generate jobs,” he said. “There is unemployment in our district, and people have to move to cities to work. Modi has promised jobs in villages.” | “I hope Modi will revive the economy and generate jobs,” he said. “There is unemployment in our district, and people have to move to cities to work. Modi has promised jobs in villages.” |
| But expectations for the new leader are already running high. | But expectations for the new leader are already running high. |
| “If he fails to deliver, this is going to be my last vote,” Chaudhary said. | “If he fails to deliver, this is going to be my last vote,” Chaudhary said. |
| Sumit Soni, 28, a medical practitioner, said she had supported Modi on Twitter and Facebook and that his victory was “a new dawn for India." | Sumit Soni, 28, a medical practitioner, said she had supported Modi on Twitter and Facebook and that his victory was “a new dawn for India." |
| India’s younger voters, she said, “want respect from the world and want to be recognized by the world as a power, which will only come after India becomes a strong nation under Modi.” | India’s younger voters, she said, “want respect from the world and want to be recognized by the world as a power, which will only come after India becomes a strong nation under Modi.” |
| Jalees Andrabi contributed to this report. | Jalees Andrabi contributed to this report. |