Yeeeeeessss!! posted by Richard Seymour

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) today conceded defeat in parliamentary elections, according to the party's president, Venkaiah Naidu, in one of the biggest upsets in Indian politics since independence.
The opposition Congress party and its allies claimed victory and declared that party leader Sonia Gandhi would be the next prime minister.

...

During the campaign, Mr Mahajan had called Ms Gandhi's Indian-born children "foreigners" and had stoked the debate - dubbed the "Sonia factor" - over whether a foreign-born citizen should rule India.

Ms Gandhi, who has pushed for a secular India in contrast to the BJP's Hindu nationalist message, is the widow of the former prime minister Rajiv Ghandi. Their two children, Rahul and Priyanka, are also politicians, and Rahul expects to be elected to parliament today.

Outside Mrs Gandhi's residence, supporters were celebrating, beating drums, setting off firecrackers and chanting slogans.

Rati Lal Kala, 35, carrying a huge Congress flag and wearing a scarf in Congress colours, said: "They said she is a foreigner, but people have given them a reply. The BJP has only played with the people's emotions. This should be a lesson for them."