The Curious Case of Indian Elections

Evaluating P.M. Manmohan Singh

According to Swapan DasGupta, P.M. Singh was “in office but never in power”; Tarun Tejpal calls him the ‘Shadow Warrior” and Meghnad Desai compares him to India’s Deng Xiao Ping. He has been criticized as being an ‘unelected P.M.’ since he is a member of the Rajya Sabha rather than the popularly elected Lok Sabha. In the words of L.K. Advani, Manmohan Singh has been the weakest Prime Minister. Whether it was the Indo-U.S. Nuclear Deal or the reopening of the Nathula Pass, P.M. Singh undertook bold initiatives in redefining India’s foreign relations. P.M. displayed his political skills at managing coalition pressures when he refused to be cornered by the CPI-M. Few would realize that this architect of India’s economic reform programme also managed to avert a near war situation with Pakistan after the Mumbai terror strikes. India had come forward with its first Climate Change Plan under P.M. Singh in 2008 and also enacted the much debated Right to Information Act in 2005.

After five years in power his promise of ‘reforms with a human face’ is open to criticism, especially when child malnutrition rates are the highest in the Country. Reports of slowing down of economic activity have challenged P.M. Singh’s economic insights. His failure to break the Congress-PDP deadlock in Jammu and Kashmir was widely criticized as was his inability to deal with the issue of Tamil civilian deaths during the recent phase of the Sri Lankan ethnic crisis. The menace of terrorism continues to threaten the country with the LeT warning of more strikes in near future.

The Prime Ministership of Manmohan Singh has been marked by highs and lows; flattered and condemned, praised and criticized. What according to you is the best and worst decisions of P.M. Manmohan Singh? How do you rate Manmohan Singh as India’s P.M.? And most importantly, do you consider P.M. Singh as worthy of a second term in office?