The Election Commission too has scored a major victory in getting a record voter turnout averaging at 65 per cent. The average turnout used to hover around 40-45 per cent in earlier elections, which would allow caste and creed factors to often play a decisive role in electing governments. Clearly, the massive publicity campaign run by the commission exhorting ‘Pappu’ to vote has paid rich dividends. These elections have been more inclusive than ever and the newly-elected governments can lay a much better claim of representing their people.

The biggest surprise of all has been the staggeringly high voter turnout in Kashmir. Despite terrorists’ warnings of violent retribution for those found with an ink stain on their fingers, the voter turnout averaged 73 per cent in some of the worst terrorist-infested constituencies. This is clearly a slap in the face of all those forces who claim that the Indian state suppresses the Kashmiri people’s voice.

The writer is a Congress MP