The Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu-nationalist political party headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has held power in India for several years. Vajpayee was so confident of his party's popular support that he called for elections six months early in the hopes of getting an even bigger parliamentary majority. In the end, though, the more moderate Congress Party won a stunning upset.

The New York Times reports:

It was one of the most dramatic political upsets since Indian independence almost 60 years ago. ... [S]ome promised that [Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi], the party leader, would be the next prime minister. There was still no official decision, however, and she must form a coalition with leftist parties that could object to her taking the leadership role -- in part because of her foreign origins. ... During the campaign, Mahajan had called Gandhi's Indian-born children foreigners and had stoked the debate -- dubbed the ``Sonia factor'' -- over whether a foreign-born citizen should rule India.

Congress focused its campaign on the country's 300 million people who still live on less than a dollar a day. It hammered away at the lack of even basic infrastructure, electricity and potable water for millions of rural poor. [I]n Gujarat state, the heartland of support for the Hindu-dominated BJP, voters appeared to reject religion-based politics, slashing the party's representation in Parliament. Gujarat was the scene of violence between Hindus and Muslims that killed 1,000 people in 2002. Gandhi has pushed for a secular India in contrast to the BJP's Hindu nationalist message.

India has suffered from a great deal of internal strife and violence between Hindus and Muslims; much of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of Hindu nationalists who argue that only Hindus are true Indians. The leadership of the Congress Party may be able to turn things around, providing that they make the right choices and matters haven't gotten too far out of hand already. Their primary task, it seems based upon their campaign, will be to help the economically disadvantaged. If they can find a way to do so that unites Muslims and HIndus, they will be able to accomplish quite a lot.

Read More:

• Religious Intolerance & Bigotry
• Religion in India
• Religious Tensions in India