Barack Obama was re-elected US President on Tuesday after a hard fought battle with his Republican rival Mitt Romney. Obama secured 303 — well over the 270 he needed to win — electoral college votes to Romney’s 206. Obama had a slender lead in the popular vote, leading Romney by 50 per cent to 49 per cent after drawing more than 56 million votes.
Poll promises
“I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching, to keep working, to keep fighting,” Obama said in his victory speech.. He will need all the courage as he faces the fiscal cliff. Also, unemployment in the country is still quite high and the dollar has slipped. He will also have to focus on fulfilling his poll promises of reducing deficit, reforming the tax code, implementing the health care system, apart from cutting dependence on foreign oil. Obama pledged to work with the opposition to achieve these objectives.
>'The best of US is yet to come'
Even as Indian bourses ended on a positive note, the US and the European markets tumbled sharply. The Dow crashed over 200 points, as the focus now shifts on taxes. The European markets, which were trading in the green, also dived. Even other asset classes such as crude oil, industrial metals traded deep in the red.
Manmohan Greets Obama
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led India in congratulating Obama. “I have no doubt that there is much more we can do together to further strengthen the India-US partnership and thereby advance peace and stability, expand mutual economic opportunities, harness the potential of science and technology, innovation and higher education and empower our people to address global challenges,” he said in a message to Obama.
While India Inc welcomed Obama’s re-election, some took a cautious approach, especially on the issue of outsourcing.
Pointing out that Obama’s re-election augurs well for the now-established India-US strategic and economic partnership, FICCI President R.V. Kanoria said the strategic partnership had been nursed painstakingly by the Obama Administration. He welcomed the strengthening cooperation in higher education, defence and homeland security, agriculture and nuclear cooperation between India and the US.
CII President Adi Godrej also welcomed Obama’s re-election.
However, according to Phaneesh Murthy, Chief Executive Officer, iGATE, the US election result was not the best news for India or the IT outsourcing industry. “We need to understand how much of the election rhetoric continues into 2013 and that will determine the full implications for us. Concerns over deficit and jobs will continue and, in my mind, will force the sluggishness to remain in the economy,” he said.
N. Chandrasekaran, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of India’s largest IT company TCS, however, felt that now the focus will be on driving economic growth, which will lead to increased prosperity and greater job creation in the US. According to him, this will also act as a catalyst for growth across the world.
Obama’s victory could also help bring peace and stability in the subcontinent.
Stability in the subcontinent
Pointing out that Pakistan took a battering during Obama’s first term with drone attacks and escalation of violence in Afghanistan, former cricketer and Pakistan politician Imran Khan said, “We hope that there will be more introspection now that Obama does not need to be re-elected.”
Retired Indian diplomats, some of whom have served in the US, however felt that Obama’s re-election augurs well for India-US relations despite the fact that relations between the two democracies now enjoy bi-partisan support in America.
“I do not subscribe to the argument that one party or another winning is good for India-US relations. While Obama’s re-election will guarantee continuity in relations, India-US relations are now etched in such a manner that they are bi-partisan,” said former Ambassador to US Shiv Shankar Mukherjee.
Commenting on military cooperation, another former Ambassador G. Parthasarathy said this had been moving well with India already buying substantive arms from the US. Asked whether President Obama in his second term is likely to give any major push to economic relations between India and the US, Ambassador Parthasarathy said it will require the Indian Government to take steps including controlling the budget deficit.
PTI reports:
Gold prices surge
Gold and silver prices surged on the domestic bullion market here today. “The US elections and the subsequent results over President Obama win had reinforced his economic policy and investor’s sentiment in yellow metal,” dealers said. Standard gold shot up Rs 405 per 10 grams to end at Rs 31,180 from Tuesday’s closing level of Rs 30,775. Silver zoomed Rs 1,050 a kg to close at Rs 60,775 compared with Rs 59,725 previously.
Robust rupee
The rupee appreciated 23 paise, its biggest gain in two weeks, to settle at 54.20 on the back of capital inflows and dollar selling by exporters amid hopes that US President Barack Obama will allow US Fed to maintain its quantitative easing programme.
Weakness in dollar against major rivals in overseas markets also helped rupee rally, forex dealers said.