Small parties split votes
A quick look at the vote shares of the many contenders in the 15th Lok Sabha elections tells us quite a different story from the one told about the United Progressive Alliance's landslide victory. Not only have the national parties failed to increase their vote shares nationally, it appears that very small local players in many states have played a determining role in the Congress' victory by splitting the opposition vote.
Verdict 2009: Families in 15th Lok Sabha
The Congress has increased its total vote share by 1.99 percent but the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote share has decreased by 3.32 percent. The combined vote share of the two main national parties has actually decreased by 1.33 percent (from 48.69 percent to 47.36 percent). This seriously tempers the claim of the resurgence of national parties to the detriment of regional ones.
Text: Gilles Verniers/ IANS
Image: Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan and Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh flashing victory signs during a press conference at Paswan's residence in New Delhi. (Copyright PTI. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited
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