As They See It

THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNALSingaporeTracking the performance of Indian politicians and parties ahead of the national elections that beg...

THE ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL
Singapore

Tracking the performance of Indian politicians and parties ahead of the national elections that begin on Sunday, we8217;ve been getting a form of mental whiplash. First came the polls predicting that the BJP and its allies will recapture the governing power they lost after a no-confidence vote last April. Then, just when it seemed that the BJP had the election in the bag, along came a big poll last weekend suggesting that the rival Congress has an edge. And what are we to make of the survey of 197 Indian chief executives where 61 per cent said they want BJP leader Atal Behari Vajpayee to be Prime Minister again, but only 37 per cent thought his last Government managed the economy well 8212; and that the best choice for finance minister would be the opposition Congress Party8217;s Manmohan Singh?

It makes sense when you consider that despite the polling confusion, the economic platforms of the two main parties are so similar as to be almost indistinguishable. Inshort, everybody is talking about reform, and how much better and aggressive but fair they will be at it than their opponents. This is something of a milestone for India, where until yesterday even true believers took care to hide the message on the general theory that you couldn8217;t get elected in India talking about reforms, and you couldn8217;t stay in power by carrying them out. Now suddenly it8217;s all out there on political lips 8212; selling state assets; privatising government services; and passing a Fiscal Responsibility Act that allows a fiscal deficit of no more than, say, 4 per cent of the GDP and for the first time links what the government can spend to the revenues it takes in8230;

In such an atmosphere, it is no wonder if some potential foreign investors are thinking: Who cares if India continues to have coalition governments and political instability 8212; economic reform will go forward no matter what.