There are two big changes taking place. The electorate is younger. Urbanisation or at least the spread of large villages — say with a population of 10,000 — is much larger than the official story. These populations are increasingly networked. Farmers wearing jeans, reading newspapers, watching news channels are more common than earlier. So are urban workers in the informal sector. They have not made Page Three but are certainly out there. When the big swings took place they were not anticipated. But from Himachal to Nagercoil and Bhuj to Vizag there was an invisible thread that pulled together substantial swings of the type the pundits couldn’t see. 

I have always been wrong, so here goes. It is likely that the national parties will do much better than anticipated. I would like to think that my guys will do better — and it’s honestly more likely that will happen because I believe they are changing the nature of the political discourse — but I am honest enough to admit that that is just a hope, although I expect it will happen in the long run. But meanwhile I know that you feel the same way and your favourites may not be mine. The important thing, though, is that the discourse is changing. That is where the hope lies. In a democratic society the serious debate is not only more than half the fun, it is an important part of the outcome — not only the fun but also the action. It is not unlikely that regional actors will do worse than anticipated. The ones who do better will be the ones asking serious questions — like the followers of Periyar did at one time and others are doing now. They will also be around in full strength only as long as their questions are seen as relevant. The big question will always be: which leadership is seen as enabling emerging groups to have a voice in the system? You can fool all the people only for some of the time. As we citizens come closer to wielding our great power it is important to recognise that there is more strength in our system than we think there is. I honestly believe most of us will vote for the India we want.  

... contd.