THE results of the state elections in India reconfirm a few trends. The Bharatiya Janata Party has captured Rajasthan, has retained Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and is now the single largest party in Delhi. This boosts Narendra Modi as ‘the’ candidate for the prime ministerial office in the general elections next summer. Also, the voting patterns add to the growing worldwide evidence of how far off the mark pre-election projections and even exit polls can turn out to be. Whereas the pollsters are accused of trying to, subtly or clumsily, force a ‘popular’ choice on the electorate, this latest instance of the voters’ defiance of predictions highlights their ability to not be over-influenced by data. It shows they can make up their minds independently. This is a sign of maturity and should deter the less careful and more ambitious calculators of public opinion everywhere.

The Indian state elections re-establish the growing assertive presence of the middle class in politics and the focus this involvement places on ‘middle-class’ issues, the most prominent among them being corruption. The Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as a force by securing a large number of seats in Delhi, containing the Congress but also denting the BJP. It appears that a sizeable number of Indian voters locate the reasons for political malfunctioning in the system itself, beyond the incompetence and corrupt practices of a single political party. This has created the conditions for a new party or third party to flourish, even if its existence is so far limited to a few locales and a few issues in the country. This is not at all dissimilar to what happened in the general elections in Pakistan. Whether or not the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has been able to live up to its promise post-polls, its voter appeal by and large lay in its ability to portray itself as a saviour, above the traditional parties and as a clean alternative. This third-party intervention, in both India and Pakistan, already signifies a change.