Gandhi dynasty set to return

NEW DELHI -- Indian voters handed the government's ruling coalition a stunning defeat yesterday in national elections, setting the stage for a revival of the storied Gandhi political dynasty, led by Italian-born Sonia Gandhi.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, resigned last night after returns pointed to a victory by Gandhi's Congress Party, which had led India for almost half a century since independence from Britain in 1947. The party has been out of power since 1998.

Gandhi, 57, the widow of slain Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, is expected to become the next prime minister, pending negotiations between the Congress and its leftist party allies.

In incomplete and unofficial results late yesterday from the three-week election, Congress and its leftist party allies had collected 279 seats, a majority of the national legislature and enough to form the new government. The BJP and its allies had 187 seats, and other smaller parties and independents had 73.

Addressing a raucous news conference at the party headquarters late yesterday, Gandhi expressed her gratitude to the Indian electorate. She also reaffirmed that India would continue the peace process with Pakistan begun by the former prime minister.

''Over the next few days, the process of government formation will gather momentum," she said. ''We will take the lead, ensure our country has strong, stable, and secular government."

In another victory for the family, Gandi's 34-year-old son, Rahul, won a seat in parliament.

Defying most opinion and exit polls, the verdict shocked the BJP, the lead partner of the incumbent, Hindu-nationalist National Democratic Alliance that has governed for the past five years. Capitalizing on the burst of economic well-being and improving peace prospects in the region, the government dissolved parliament in February and called for early elections.

But in the midst of India's searing summer heat, the plan backfired. Millions of poor Indians said they were angry that the economic boom has benefited a small percentage of the country's urban residents. That prosperity, buoyed by a well-chronicled surge in jobs outsourced from US companies, remained out of reach for most, they said.

By contrast, the Congress Party courted the masses in small towns and rural areas.

''We miscalculated," admitted Pramod Mahajan, a leading BJP figure who was in charge of the party's ''India Shining" election campaign. ''In the eyes of the voters, Congress appeared pro-poor, while the BJP suddenly became a supporter of the well-to-do."

Political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan said that while the ruling party had attempted to make Gandhi's foreign origins a campaign issue, the average voter appeared not to be bothered by that fact. ''What concerns him is food, clothing, and a house over his head," he said

In a somber address to the nation last night, Vajpayee said: ''We have given up office, but not our responsibility to serve the nation. We have lost an election, but not our determination. Victory and defeat are a part of life, which are to be viewed with equanimity."

As results trickled in during the evening, the Congress Party headquarters was besieged with supporters and party workers.

''At last, the Gandhi family is back,'' said 65-year-old Krishnappa, who hails from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and is a tea stall owner in the capital's Old Delhi section. He said he did not care that Sonia Gandhi was not born in India.

''She speaks Hindi, ties a sari," said Krishnappa, who goes by one name. ''That is good enough for me."

The Bush administration, which has enjoyed close relations with Vajpayee's government, congratulated the Congress Party, saying it would keep encouraging India and Pakistan to settle their differences through diplomacy.

Pakistani leaders, who had openly said they would like to see Vajpayee's government re-elected, were quick to play down its defeat.

''For us, the most important thing is that the process for peace should continue," information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the Associated Press in a telephone interview from Malaysia, where he is attending a conference.

''I am fully confident that the results of elections in India will not disturb the peace process."

J. N. Dixit, a former foreign secretary who is a foreign-policy analyst for the Congress Party, insisted that India's dialogue with Pakistan will not be disrupted, because the party has supported Vajpayee's peace initiative.

''The momentum will continue," he said. ''If anything, the process will be less ambiguous and more transparent."

Gandhi was able to persuade India's 600 million voters that her party cared for the common man by highlighting the economic inequities. She overcame consistent personal attacks made by political rivals on her foreign birth, her Italian accent, and the fact that until recently she used to read her speeches in Hindi written in Roman script.

Sonia Maino was born near Turin, Italy, to working-class Italian parents. She met Rajiv Gandhi in 1968 in Cambridge, England, and was soon married into the family that played a pivotal role in India's freedom movement. For 30 years, she looked after her two children and the home of her dynamic mother-in-law, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.

A year before Indira Gandhi was assassinated, in 1984, Sonia Gandhi became an Indian citizen.

It was only after his mother's death that Rajiv Gandhi, who previously was an airline pilot, reluctantly agreed to become a politician, against the advice of his wife. He was assassinated in 1991.

Sonia Gandhi kept a low profile until, seven years later, she was coaxed into taking over the reins of the 119-year-old party. She won a seat in parliament in 1999.

In April, Rahul Gandhi, a Harvard University graduate, entered the party and stood for elections from Amethi. The fifth-generation politician won with a margin of more than 200,000 votes.

Material from wire services was included in this report.