Finally, the Leftists are out of the government. I am of the opinion that this is probably the best thing that could have happened to Manmohan Singh. For too long have the Left held his policies at ransom, for too long have the reforms been stalled by the lousy agenda of the Left. In short, for too long have they had power without responsibility.

The time has come to show the world what Manmohan Singh is capable of. And now, it is not too difficult to go ahead with the reforms, since government has more than six months at hand, and none of the allies will make too much noise, since they will have extracted their pound of flesh. Experience shows, 100 days are sufficient for full-fledged reforms, and our PM thankfully has much more than that. Plus none of the allies have ideological commitments like the communists. So let the government get its act right for once, and start on the reforms in earnest.

It is a known fact that most development schemes like the NREG and the JNURM haven't really shown results, while there has been no tangible progress on major infrastructural projects like the DFCs. Whether by a political master-stroke by our PM, or a blunder by Mr Karat, or by plain coincidence, here is a chance, for the Congress, for the PM, for Sonia, and for India. We should not let it go.

PS : I am also of the opinion that the communists would have deserted the government anyway before the elections, to beat off anti-incumbency. The N-deal was just an excuse, price rise could also have served the same purpose, only that parties like SP would not have come forward to support a government rendered minority by inflation. So again, if at all, the Left got its calculations wrong.