Election 2009 saw a comprehensive triumph for the United Progressive Alliance. But the initial impression of an overwhelming mandate for the Congress needs to be corrected. A close scrutiny of the outcome shows that the Congress “victory” was ambiguous and owed a lot to movements that were not of its making. Shifts in the “third electoral system” worked against the politics of identity and made the quality of government an issue. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s inability to hold on to its new social bloc resulted in a depolarisation that benefited the Congress. The victory of the Congress also came about because the voters had a mildly positive image of its governance record and welfare measures. Yet in the end this verdict was more about politics than chance. A shrinking of the National Democratic Alliance, a positive image of the UPA government and its leadership gave the ruling coalition a decisive lead before the campaign formally began.