Modi eyes power as Obama makes pledge to new India leader

[bananas]

2. Indian election: Stock markets surge to record high after exit polls predict Narendra Modi landslide

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/indian-election-stock-markets-surge-to-record-high-after-exit-polls-predict-narendra-modi-landslide-9359870.html

Indian election: Stock markets surge to record high after exit polls predict Narendra Modi landslide
Andrew Buncombe
Delhi, Tuesday 13 May 2014

India's stock markets have surged to a record high after the release of exit polls that suggest Narendra Modi is set to become the country’s next prime minister. It was the third successive day they rose to new heights amid anticipation of Mr Modi taking office.

The country’s main stock index, the Sensex, rose by 1.7 per cent to 23,941.32 points in early trading after television channels on Monday night released polls suggesting a landslide win for Mr Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The polls, which have been badly wrong in the past, suggested the ruling Congress party will suffer its worst ever defeat.

Mr Modi, the controversial chief minister of Gujarat, is seen as being friendly to business and investors and many in the corporate world would welcome him becoming premier. During the election campaign he often said if he became prime minister, investors would encounter a “red carpet” rather than red tape.

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During his campaign, he repeatedly pushed the message of development and jobs, even while some of his BJP colleagues continued to stir communal tension. While many Muslims refused to vote for him because of the killing of hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, lots of voters were attracted his his aspirational, modern campaign.

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