UK polls: Cameron's Modi moment? No, it was Ed Miliband's Sonia moment

London: When an Indian TV channel called me up this morning for my reaction to the dramatic outcome of British elections I likened it to Britain’s Modi moment. And the anchor who had prefaced his question with a reference to Modi’s “surprisingly” massive victory nodded approvingly. But on reflection I think that any comparison between what happened in India around this time last year and Friday’s events in Britain is quite off the mark. Good for a sexy headline in The Pioneer but bad analysis. [caption id=“attachment_2235388” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] David Cameron with his wife. AFP[/caption] First, a Modi victory was never in doubt and it was only a question of how big it would be (a mere “wave”? Or a “tsunami”?) In David Cameron’s case, on the other hand, there was a big question mark over whether his party would manage even to emerge as a single largest party. And with its honeymoon with the Liberal Democrats on the rocks, another Tory-led government was as good as written off. Within the Tory Party knives were already out, with Cameron’s rivals shamelessly positioning themselves to challenge his leadership after the elections. London Mayor Boris Johnson went to the extent of contesting a parliamentary seat so that he would be in the right place at the right time to take over from Cameron. In the event, Cameron went on to lead Tories to an outright victory in an echo of John Major’s surprising win in 1992. So, Cameron and Tories’ return to power is a far more amazing feat than Modi’s. The other big — and politically more significant — difference is that contrary to the media chatter Cameron’s triumph doesn’t symbolise a profound ideological shift in British attitudes in a way Modi’s did in India. Cameron is not a divisive politician and unlike Modi he is socially liberal. Under him the Tory Party has become more inclusive and forward looking. He has also made serious efforts to reach out to minority groups . Which is in sharp contrast to Modi’s record on the issue. The number of Asian/Indian origin candidates fielded by the Tory party was more than the number of Muslims fielded by the BJP in the 2014 elections. Let’s be clear: Cameron is not Modi; and it’s NOT Britain’s Modi moment. It will be more accurate to describe it as Ed Miliband’s “Sonia Gandhi moment”. Like the Congress, Labour has been crushed especially in its traditional heartland Scotland where it won 41 out of 59 seats in 2010. This time the Scottish National Party (SNP) ran away with 56 of those seats. Miliband’s political career has effectively ended even before it took off; and to think that until only yesterday he had visions of becoming prime minister with the support of SNP and other left-of-centre parties. So, what went wrong? And where does it go from here? First, Miliband never looked like prime ministerial material. Certainly he is not cut out for the 24/7 television age when being telegenic and in control matters more than grey matter in your head. Intellectually he is head and shoulders above Cameron but in public — and especially under the arc lights — he comes as too geeky and a awkward. He is Britain’s answer to Rahul Gandhi in presentational terms. There are lessons here for Rahul if he is serious about remaining in frontline politics. In recent months, Miliband did make an effort to improve his PR image but it proved to be too late. By then people had already written him off. Polls after polls showed that voters didn’t think he would make a good prime minister. Cameron with his smooth spit-and-polish public school boy charisma was the consistent favourite. Favoured even by those who didn’t agree with his policies. Miliband who resigned as party leader taking full responsibility for the Labour’s disaster showing said, “This is not the speech I wanted to give.” The same can be said about Cameron who was said to have been ready with a resignation speech in the event of his party ending up short. The BBC’s exit poll on Thursday night showing a hidden surge for the Tories changed everything. In the end, the Tories strategy proved better. By hammering on the SNP factor — i.e. a Labour government would be driven by pro-independence SNP-it succeeded in scaring enough English voters voters to dump Labour. They were also able to sell more effectively their austerity message by blaming Labour for the 2008 economic crisis than Labour was able to sell its counter-narrative. Labour did offer some sensible policies but they didn’t add up to coherent programme. In the end, voters preferred to stick with the devil they knew. The least surprising bit was Lib Dems’ rout . They paid the price for propping up the Cameron government–an act that the party’s hard core supporters saw as being tantamount to sleeping with the enemy. Finally, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) had its comeuppance. Despite all the media hype I always thought it was a bubble waiting to burst. And, boy, how it burst. Even Nigel Farage, its flamboyant leader, failed to win. UKIP was essentially a one-man band and with Farage out (he has stepped down) it has had its day. Cameron once famously described it as a part of “loonies and fruitcakes”. And he was right. What next for Cameron? He has won the crucial battle but the larger war still looms ahead. His party is deeply divided over a range of issues notably Europe and he will need all his management skills to hold it together. Besides with a wafer thin majority in the Commons, his government will be under constant pressure. The fun and games have just begun.