The community in the US reacted to the election results, by and large, with surprise. Consensus prevails that the change in government will not impact on either economic or foreign policy; that the new government will speed up economic liberalisation and try to improve relations with Pakistan.

On everything else, however, people differed, tending to hew to party lines. Subramaniam Vemuri, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP, said the group did not expect the verdict.

"We expected some reversals. But this was beyond that," he said. "It is a setback for the Bharatiya Janata Party. But it is a bigger setback for the country. The party will recover from this soon. It has come to power from having even smaller numbers in previous election."

The arrival of a Congress government will affect the country badly, Vemuri argued. "It may affect the economy. It could lead to instability. It may also affect relations with other countries."

The OFBJP chief blamed the poor performance of its allies for the downfall of the BJP government. "The message and good work of the government did not reach the lower levels."

Community leaders such as Jeevan Zutshi, founder of the Indo-American Community Federation in California; Dr Navin Shah, one of the founders of the Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin; John Abraham, the first Indian to become mayor of a town in the US; and Dr Najma Sultana, leader of the NRIs for Secular and Harmonious India group, all lauded the Congress party's win.

Prakash Wagmare, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader in New York; Subash Razdan, a community activist in Atlanta; and Bhailal Patel, president of a faction of the NFIA, did not agree.

Razdan, who felt the BJP had paid a price for its overconfidence, suggested a constitutional amendment that bans foreign-born persons from becoming prime minister.

Bhailal Patel said while he is not against Sonia Gandhi personally, he felt as a matter of principle that a prime minister should be an Indian born and bred.

"In its quest to placate pseudo-secularists and so-called minorities, the BJP completely marginalised the majority Hindu's aspirations and therefore failed to distinguish themselves from Congress and the opposition," Wagmare felt. "This slight to their core supporters made them (voters) sit home throughout this election process. The bottom line is this vote was more against the BJP/NDA than in favor of the Congress."

Razdan believes the Congress party and the Left make for strange bedfellows. "There will be conflict of ideologies," he said, adding that in his opinion such conflicts might not impact on US-India relationships.

Dr Navin Shah felt that a Congress government in Delhi, characterised by moderate policies, would get India more acceptability in the West. "This could well lead to India finally becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council," he felt.

Raju Rajagopal, a member of the Coalition Against Communalism said, "It seems as if a great burden has been lifted off the shoulders of those who have been terribly worried that a majority for the BJP would put India on an irreversible path towards fascist-like rule."

"The BJP losing the election is good news for religious and ethnic minorities," said Kaleem Kawaja, vice president of the Association of Indian Muslims of America. "But much more than that, it is good news for the entire nation. Now there is another chance to restore the age-old pluralist and composite structure of the nation, that the BJP tried so hard to change with their exclusivist policies."

Sylvester Fernandez, who is contesting for the US Congress as a Republican from New Jersey, said, "Five years of India Shining left the poor biting the dust," while corporates "did not show any social responsibility or social commitment to improve the lot of the unfortunate majority of the country. That is where politics, economics and social justice always clash. The prosperous are always selfish and care two hoots for the poor and miserable. For the poor though, this is a once in five years opportunity to send a clear message to the politicians."