Shifting our attention to the fascinating political duel between Barrack Obama and the spirited Hillary Clinton, it is an election which both deserve to win. Barrack Obama has the edge and if he wins the Democratic nomination he may well win the Presidential race as the shadow of the debacle in Iraq looms over the electorate in the USA and also in the UK. The war in Iraq was waged on false intelligence reports and had no connection with the events of 9/11 and the credibility factor and the motives of the administration in waging this wasteful war is a negative as reflected in the opinion polls. The economy after the subprime shocks continues to give confusing signals and middle class and the weaker sections in the USA feel the ripple effect of high inflation and unless there are major miracles over the next few months.

Interest levels in the elections in both the USA and UK will be intense as besides the sizeable American Indian voting population and the renewed interest in India there are also Indian MNC’s and individual investors in India looking to acquire business and personal assets in both these countries who are our traditional business partners and new policy initiatives of a new administration are of great interest to the business community.

The Nuclear deal will go through and the Left will fire the usual Nuclear blanks, will withdraw support and demand a debate but will not vote the government out of power. We have excellent relations with the USA and this will propel our business relations to a new level but one cannot understand why archaic Cold War arguments should affect our thinking on crucial issues. India is relevant today as we have emerged as an Economic power with an 8% GDP growth in the developed world and can this all happen if we do not generate the wealth by productivity, maintain reforms and integrate intensely with the global economy. There are issues which should not be subject to contradictions of internal politics like nuclear agreement and development of resources in this direction are crucial for our growth in the global economy.

We will see temporary alliances on the nuclear issue and once this is behind us the focal issue will be the next round of Assembly elections in MP/Rajasthan/Chhattisgarh/Delhi. Security and illegal immigrants will be a major issue as political parties aim at the majority and minority vote banks and sadly the security perceptions may well be lost as neither the NDA/UPA or for that matter the Assam government have done little to stem the flow of refugees into the country. The UPA/NDA cannot take anything for granted and both may be relegated to the background if regional forces increase their seats. The process will be very different and we will get the urgency we need on infrastructure issues and Nuclear power is a key component as we look to the future as many fringe players with small but important vole banks will play a key role in the final result.