Democratic horseplay: It would be funny if it weren't so sad

There goes the comforting thought we once entertained, that once the Karnataka election was over, we could all stop living at an exhausting pitch of suspense. Far from relief, the aftermath of that election has put Indian democracy in free fall, in both alarming and interesting ways.

First, there was the stunning outcome in Karnataka, which in the morning had looked so certain for the BJP that various journalists jumped the gun with stories about their victory in yet another state. By the afternoon the BJP was short of a majority, and a Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) post-poll alliance was in