The Prince and the Pauper

As India celebrated its festival of democracy with pomp and show, who ended as the Prince and who would be left to rue their luck as the Pauper in this story- Congress-led UPA or BJP led NDA?

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When all of the world was sinking in the quicksand of the Recession in 2008, India had weathered through the storm relatively unscathed under Manmohan Singh's leadership. Congress had earned the trust of the voters across society- it was living up to its name of being a "catchall party". As the elections came closer and closer, a victory of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance, a Congress-led coalition) seemed like a perfectly reasonable conclusion.

There was, however, a catch. Anybody who had been following elections closely and crunching the numbers would've realised that ever since the mid-1980s, coalition governments had ruled the roost. Even more interestingly, no incumbent government had managed to hold on to its power. Would Congress suffer the same fate as its predecessors had or would it defy the odds and take the reins of India once again?

When Judgement Day came on May 16, 2009, the public gave a resounding verdict in favour of Congress. With 206 seats it emerged as the largest party in that elections, followed by the L.K. Advani led BJP which won 116 seats.

For the Bhartiya Janata Party, this had been a particularly embarrassing result. After the failure of its "Shining India" campaign in 2004 due to its lack of appeal to those in faraway corners of the country, they had high hopes for the 2009 elections. Hoping to ride the wave of their regional success, they fell flat onto the sandy shores.

Everybody had written them off and the media had labelled them the "Bhartiya Jhanjhat Party". Congress on the other hand were triumphant and rejoicing in the glory of their electoral victory. It seemed like an epoch of Congressi Dominance was upon us again.

They had forgotten one important axiom of India: nobody can predict when you'd go from riding the highs of victory to suffering through the lows of electoral annihilation. The tides could turn any time. They will have to, sooner or later.

A radical overhaul of sorts in the BJP was underway. Their focus was now on weeding out dead weight within the party, which had prevented them from forging a connection with the youth. This purge meant that Narendra Modi, the strongman Chief Minister of Gujrat was shot up the family hierarchy. His fabled Gujarat Model of development had earned him nationwide admiration.

Strategically, it made sense for them to make Modi the face of the party.

The BJP were off the blocks very early this time. They knew they had to be ready when the opportunity to prove themselves as a viable option presented itself. They were sure Congress would slip up. They were right.

A slew of corruption charges coupled with increasing crime rates, decreasing efficiency, economic downturn, skyrocketing inflation and disenchantment with the Gandhi family hit Congress all in quick succession, which made it very hard for them to recover from.

The BJP capitalised on this chink in the Congress' armour, this time contesting on the plank of bringing back the good old days of prosperity and growth (the catchy jingle "Achhe Din Aane Waale Hai").

Rahul Gandhi, the weak scion of the Gandhi Family was no match for Modi's eloquence and charisma. When voting season dawned upon the Indians. they flocked to the election booth in record numbers to vote for the BJP.

Life comes full circle one day or another. 5 years later yet again on 16th May, BJP became the first party to achieve a majority after 25 years. Congress had officially become a thing of the past, its death knell having been rung by the BJP. For the winners of the contest, this was just the beginning of their dominance. The reinvented BJP under Narendra Modi, were here to stay.