Brokers say selling pressures will likely continue if it looks like the new government cannot enact economic reforms because of a weak majority. The polls indicate Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the leader of the Congress Party was unable to defeat Mr. Vajpayee. But the exit polls also appear to show the Congress Party has picked up seats and will be a formidable opposition in the next session. The chairman of the Center for Media Studies in New Delhi, N. Bhaskar Rao, says most Indians voted hoping for stability after three elections in three years. The head of the independent polling group says that is not what they will get.
Stability is nowhere in sight.
I see the next election well before five-years. In fact, I see another election in two-years. Mr. Vajpayee's government was brought down after one of his coalition partners withdrew support. If the exit polls are correct, Mr. Vajpayee will return to power as head of an even more unwieldy coalition made up of more than 20 parties. With a slim majority in Parliament, many people in India are asking how long it will be before one of the Prime Minister's coalition partners withdraws support, precipitating another crisis.