Gujarat state election results roll in. Pol Pot Redux leads his party to a landslide. Some worry about more violence in Gujarat, but I think that is unlikely — until it’s time for the next elections. Meanwhile, intimidation of minorities will continue apace as the architects of this election campaign get their pound of flesh from Modi, but of course, the (now) vigilant police will never allow it to escalate to levels that hit national headlines.

People who try to extrapolate this to the rest of India will be disappointed, though. What works in Gujarat really doesn’t work across India. The BJP had to water down its agenda to form the NDA, and while a hawkish agenda may get it a slim majority, it will almost certainly alienate a lot of people and lead to gridlock in parliament. In particular, it’s difficult to see a hawkish campaign working in Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and most of the North-East, and to a lesser extent in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Of course, what the BJP (a strategy-driven party, something unusual in India’s kneejerk-reaction-driven political circus) is probably betting on is that it will grab the electorally important states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (including Uttaranchal), and gain numbers from Bihar (it is already strong in Jharkhand) and Madhya Pradesh. This will ensure that it can enforce it’s own undiluted agenda if it wins the next general elections.

“In a democracy, people get the kind of government they deserve.” –Adlai Stevenson.