Corporate India unfazed

Reforms to continue irrespective of election outcome: BS poll.

India Inc is unfazed by the prospect of a hung Lok Sabha. The findings of exit polls had suggested that the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) might find the electoral going tough.

But an overwhelming majority of senior executives of companies interviewed by Business Standard on Tuesday said the reforms process would continue irrespective of the outcome of the elections and, in the worst case, there would be only a short-term impact. Most felt that the NDA would ride back to power and, some said, perhaps with a slender majority.

Twenty-eight representatives of the corporate and financial sectors participated in the snap poll. About 70 per cent of the respondents said there would not be a hung Lok Sabha and the ruling NDA would be able to cobble together a coalition government even if it comes back with fewer seats.

Over 75 per cent of the respondents said the NDA would return to power; 85 per cent said the reforms process would continue even if the government changed.

However, 55 per cent of the respondents said if BJP got fewer seats, it might become susceptible to the pulls and pressures of its allies.

Finally, over 70 per cent of the respondents said the approach to economic policies would not change even if the Congress came to power.

At least some of the respondents said the exit polls should not be given too much importance at this stage as the elections were only halfway through. Also, some of them felt that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh might play the kingmaker's role in the new government. This, however, has not gone down well with them.

Suhel Seth, chief executive officer of Equus Redcell, said: "I am sure if the NDA again comes to power it will be the BJP which will get the majority seats, so there is no doubt. If the Congress forms the government , there could be some changes in economic policy, but it is too early to say what these will be."

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company chief executive officer Shikha Sharma did not think there would be a hung Lok Sabha and the BJP had a record of managing coalition governments.

She said even if the Congress came to power, economic policy would be unchanged. "The pace will slow down but the BJP has shown the country where reforms are headed. The economic agenda of other political parties is not much different from the BJP ," Sharma said.

Santosh Desai, president of McCann Erickson, said: "If the BJP does not come to power, it will affect the reform process. But if the NDA comes to power with the BJP getting fewer seats, there could be a real danger as economic reforms may be hampered."

Venu Srinivisan, TVS Motor Company chairman and managing director, said the prospects of a hung Lok Sabha and a weaker coalition would only affect business sentiment in the short term. He expects economic reforms to continue even under a Congress-led government.

Atul Punj, chairman of the Delhi-based Punj Lloyd, said: "Reforms will temporarily come to a halt if there is a hung Lok Sabha. But the process of reforms will continue irrespective of the party in power, and the size of the mandate."

Rajeev Karwal, chief executive officer and managing director, Electrolux Kelvinator, said the Congress had shown enough commitment to reforms. "The process will perhaps move faster under a Congress government. Even the communists in West Bengal are moving ahead with their version of reforms. So whatever be the mandate, economic policies will not change much," he pointed out.