New Delhi, May 16: The idea of India — a vibrant, secular, plural, resurgent nation that can transcend its myriad differences and complexities to reaffirm an essential unity of purpose — received a resounding victory today as the world’s largest electorate shed the politics of extremes and delivered a decisive mandate to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.

For the Grand Old Party, today’s verdict was, arguably, its sweetest victory in many decades. In terms of numbers, the Congress secured much bigger wins in 1984 and even in 1991. But those came in the backdrop of tragic assassinations and were harvested in abnormal times and soon became a thing of the past as the politics of identity and regionalism, of caste and creed left little space for the middle-of-the-road politics of the only truly pan-Indian party.

Five years ago, the Congress surprised everyone, including itself, by making something of a comeback with 145 seats and then leading a difficult coalition to its full term. But today’s result is of much greater significance for it is not a negative vote but a ringing endorsement of the politics of inclusion and moderation as much as it is of the unique leadership provided by the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi combine.

It is equally significant that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s two principal ideological adversaries — the Prakash Karat-led Left and the L.K. Advani-led Right — both faced a crushing defeat at the hands of the electorate. Advani’s highly personalised attack against Manmohan for being the country’s “weakest Prime Minister” boomeranged badly while Karat’s attempts to build a “third” alternative floundered spectacularly with his own party facing an unprecedented rout in Bengal and Kerala.

The Congress — in its rejuvenated, 21st century avatar represented by Rahul Gandhi — took a calculated gamble in going it alone in the Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. At the same time, fully aware of the exigencies of coalition-era politics, it retained old allies (DMK, NCP) and found new ones (notably Trinamul Congress). The “ekla chalo re” impulse, leavened by alliances where it mattered, paid off handsomely today with the Congress winning across the length and breadth of India. The resurgence was spectacular in Uttar Pradesh, the party’s tally vaulted from nine to 21 now.

But the biggest reason for today’s victory was best spelled out by Sonia herself. Standing beside a beaming Manmohan, Sonia told the media massed outside 10 Janpath that she had always believed that “eventually the people of India know what is good for them and always take the right decision”.

The UPA government had “worked hard” to fulfil the promises made in the Congress manifesto and the common minimum programme and “the people have appreciated our sincerity and dedication”.

Those two words — sincerity and dedication — could well sum up why Indians across the caste, class, communal and regional divide chose to deliver a rare pro-incumbency vote this time and re-affirm their faith in the leader-ship provided by Manmohan and the Gandhi family.

Sonia’s act of “sacrifice” five years ago may have receded from the headlines but her decision to renounce high office, nominate the “apolitical” Manmohan for the top job and then back him to the hilt through the five-year term created an enormous sense of goodwill for the Congress and its leadership.

Manmohan also struck a chord with the Indian people as a man of learning and innate decency who was determined to do his best by the country. His decision to put his job on the line for the sake of the Indo-US nuclear deal may have alienated the Left but further enhanced his stature in the eyes of the increasingly powerful middle class spread across metropolitan and small town India. Even his Left critics conceded that Manmohan was guided by what he believed to be in the best, long-term interests of the country.

If Manmohan, the man who initiated economic reforms in the early 1990s, managed to win the appreciation of corporate and middle class India with the UPA government’s performance on the economic and foreign policy fronts, Sonia Gandhi kept her eyes firmly on the “aam-aadmi” content of the Congress’s promised agenda — pushing the government to implement landmark initiatives including the NREGA, RTI and the farm loan waiver scheme.

That the rural employment scheme was a big hit was clear when reporters on the election trail heard a new word for the first time — “narega” (as the NREGA is referred to) on the lips of both unlettered villagers and politicians of every hue. The Congress’s old support base of rural and urban poor that had atrophied over time was rejuvenated in a big way, thanks to these pro-aam aadmi schemes.

If the Sonia-Manmohan combine managed to pack in a refreshing mix of sincerity and dedication, Rahul only reinforced the feeling that the new Congress — despite ties of blood and legacy — was very different from the old one. Both Sonia and Rahul (and Priyanka during her numerous interactions with the media) made it clear that they were not in a hurry to grab power but had reluctantly entered politics from a sense of mission. Sonia — unlike her mother-in-law or husband — made consensual politics her hallmark. This, along with Rahul’s decision to focus on long-term revival rather than short-term gains, decisively changed the Congress’s earlier image of a party drunk on power and hubris.

In sharp contrast, leaders opposing the Congress failed on both the sincerity and dedication benchmarks. The BJP leadership, which took a long time to come to terms with the 2004 defeat, offered no new ideas or vision that could compete with the UPA’s promise of development, stability and inclusive politics.

The Left leadership failed on that front too for even as they espoused pro-poor and anti-imperialist rhetoric, they come across — to their own support base — as arrogant and self-serving, hypocritical and uncaring.

Today’s mandate also indicates that the politics of identity may have come a full circle. Identity politics played a crucial role in giving a sense of empowerment and a thirst for dignity to many hitherto suppressed sections of India’s populace. But these same people now want more meaningful development which can be delivered in a climate of harmony and stability — and the Sonia-Manmohan-Rahul Congress seemed to offer the best chances for it.

CONGRESS SEATS