Manoj Pradhan, in jail for leading riots against Christians last year in Orissa, seems to have won a seat in the state assembly in India’s general elections.
But overall, India’s Christians have reason to be happy with the election. Dara Singh, who was convicted of leading Graham Staines’ murder, was not permitted to run.
More importantly, most of the election results showed a distaste for right-wing Hinduism and support of the non-religious Congress Party. The BJP, a Hindu nationalist party, was defeated quite solidly. The Washington Post reports that they are re-evaluating their support of candidates who support anti-Christian and anti-Muslim violence.
Manmohan Singh, the incumbent, is set for a second term as prime minister. The New York Times reports that India’s stock market surged after the announcement the Congress party won 205 of 543 seats in Parliament. A near-majority means the party no longer has to “rely on India’s Communist parties to stay in power.” Those Communist parties won about 80 seats, and the BJP, 159.
