The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : A vote for change

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 23, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

A vote for change

All pre-poll and exit poll surveys predicting a hung Assembly for Bihar have been conclusively proved wrong. The enlightened voters have given a decisive mandate — a vote for change — in favour of the JD(U)-BJP combine. The people were fed up with bad governance. Hope the victorious alliance will script a new chapter in governance and put the State on the road to progress.

B.H. Shanmukhappa,
Davanagere, Karnataka

The result is a resounding slap in the face of the UPA. The exit polls also failed to predict a landslide win for the NDA. Exit poll predications are no more reliable and do not reflect the true picture.

S. Anbalagan,
Kumbakonam, T.N.

The voters have demonstrated that no amount of empty rhetoric and nauseating sound bites on any issue other than development will be tolerated.

Amaruvi Devanathan,
Chennai

The elections have proved that the Indian voter cannot be taken for granted and that misrule cannot be perpetuated merely on the basis of caste. Apart from obvious reasons, at least some credit for the NDA's landslide victory should also go to Governor Buta Singh who galvanised the people beyond the caste divides by negating their February verdict.

Air Cmde (retd.) Raghubir Singh,
Pune

The drubbing suffered by the RJD reflects the anger and the frustration at the party's inaction and inept governance over the last 15 years. That the people cannot be bullied by only assurances from the politicians is evident from the mandate.

Barun Kumar Mahapatro,
Berhampur, Orissa

In the end it was not secularism versus communalism. The Bihar voter, even the Muslim so assiduously wooed, voted overwhelmingly for development and good governance.

Beatrix D'Souza,
Chennai

The election result should be viewed as a desire of the people for better rule. The victorious leaders of the JD(U)-BJP combine must understand that it is time to deliver and make sure that Bihar does not symbolise bad governance anymore.

Roushan Mishra,
Lucknow

A close-up view of the Bihar election results reveals the pathetic show of the Congress and the collapse of the UPA. The Congress bargained and got more Assembly seats from the RJD but failed to win. On the other hand, the NDA has made a comeback and the BJP, in spite of its internal quarrels, has put up a good show.

Nisha Gopalan,
Chennai

At last the people of Bihar have woken up and put an end to the RJD regime. For the triumphant NDA partners, this is an opportunity to establish an orderly public life that is the need of the hour.

V.S. Ganeshan,
Bangalore

The voters should be commended for rejecting caste and religion and selecting development as the main issue in the election.

Gorakh Chawla,
Karaikal, Pondicherry

The outcome is not a victory for the BJP. It is a personal victory for JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar as he wanted to steer clear of the BJP's Hindutva ideology.

V.N. Gopal,
Chennai

The results indicate that it is more of an anti-RJD vote rather than a pro-JD(U) vote. Now, the JD(U) and its partners have a greater responsibility to reverse the trend of criminal politics in Bihar and turn it on to the path of peace and development. Also the drubbing received by Ram Vilas Paswan is fully deserving for his blatant communalisation of even the Chief Minister's chair.

N. Nagesh,
Singapore

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

Decline and fall of the RJD

An end to `Greater Israel'?

Bihar joins the national mainstream

Unease over environment clearances

Can the South Asian region do it too?

Poised to create history

Internet scams: lessons about buyers

War crimes and phosphorus clouds