 "Best of BS Opinion: Coalition reset, How 2024 was never a done deal & more")
The biggest takeaway from the results of the 18th Lok Sabha elections is that no election in India is a done deal till the last vote is counted. Proving most exit polls wrong, the results suggest that the Bharatiya Janata Party will have to rely on its allies to form the government. Though many believe a coalition government can slow the reform process, which was reflected in the sharp drop in benchmark stock market indices, it is worth remembering that the economic reform process was started in 1991 by a minority government and followed up by successive coalition governments till 2014. Though much will now depend on the new government's composition, structure, and stated programme, it will certainly benefit from improving capacity in economic policymaking and increasing consultations. The top edit chalks out the agenda for the new government. Read it here
In other views:
Shekhar Gupta says the Lok Sabha election results set the stage for state polls in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Jammu & Kashmir. Read it here
R Jagannathan says the exit pollsters owe us an apology and so does the Congress to the Election Commission. Read it here
A K Bhattacharya outlines the governance challenges for a potential coalition government. Read it here
QUOTE OF THE DAY
‘The markets, are pricing the risk associated with… the potential impact of shift toward socialist policies by the government’
Stock market analyst