<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Election victory for India's Congress
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Party led by PM Manmohan Singh puts on strongest showing since 1991 </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Ravi Velloor, South Asia Bureau Chief and P. Jayaram, India Correspondent
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday led his Congress party to a stunning electoral victory, holding out the prospect of a stable government as the world's largest democracy prepares for the eventual transition to a younger leader.
At press time, the Congress-led coalition was projected to win 261 seats, short of the 272 needed for a parliamentary majority, state TV said. The Congress party itself had won or was leading in 204 seats, putting it far ahead of all other parties.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) opposition alliance lagged behind with 160 seats while a Third Front of communist and smaller groups would get 58 seats.
Firecrackers burst in central New Delhi as Congress party workers celebrated the unexpectedly strong showing.
'The people of India have spoken and spoken with great clarity,' the 76-year-old Dr Singh told reporters yesterday, standing alongside party chief Sonia Gandhi.
'I express my deep sense of gratitude to the people of the country for the massive mandate they have given us.'
Not since 1991, when Congress gained from a sympathy wave following Mr Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, has the party turned in such a strong showing. On the other hand, the BJP has had its worst performance in 20 years.
Dr Singh gave much credit for Congress' success to Mr Rajiv Gandhi's son, first-time MP Rahul Gandhi, praising his 'tireless work' and expressing the hope that he would be able to convince the younger man to join his Cabinet.
This time, it appears that Mr Rahul Gandhi, 38, may relent. That would set the stage for a leadership transition that may take place as early as 2011, when Mr Rahul Gandhi settles into his 40s.
The Congress victory is bound to boost financial markets when they open tomorrow, given Dr Singh's pivotal role in India's economic liberalisation.
'The stage is set for a new wave of reforms,' said Mr Harsh Pati Singhania, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The decisive mandate also bodes well for foreign policy, with the Singh government having several tricky issues on its hands, from a markedly less friendly Obama administration in the United States to a newly assertive China.
But the election results were a kiss of death for the prime ministerial ambitions of Mr Lal Krishna Advani. The 81-year-old BJP leader has said he will quit politics if the BJP does not win this time.
Congress swept the seven seats in the capital Delhi, all five seats it contested in Mumbai and retained its firm grip on the vote-rich state of Andhra Pradesh, which sends 42 MPs to Parliament. It also gained seats in Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
In his hour of triumph, Dr Singh showed magnanimity to the allies who had deserted him in the run-up to the polls. The Congress party, he said, would welcome help from all secular parties to provide a stable government for the country.
That message was read to include the Left parties that had ditched his government last July, forcing a crisis that nearly toppled Dr Singh.
[email protected] [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Party led by PM Manmohan Singh puts on strongest showing since 1991 </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Ravi Velloor, South Asia Bureau Chief and P. Jayaram, India Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday led his Congress party to a stunning electoral victory, holding out the prospect of a stable government as the world's largest democracy prepares for the eventual transition to a younger leader.
At press time, the Congress-led coalition was projected to win 261 seats, short of the 272 needed for a parliamentary majority, state TV said. The Congress party itself had won or was leading in 204 seats, putting it far ahead of all other parties.
The Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) opposition alliance lagged behind with 160 seats while a Third Front of communist and smaller groups would get 58 seats.
Firecrackers burst in central New Delhi as Congress party workers celebrated the unexpectedly strong showing.
'The people of India have spoken and spoken with great clarity,' the 76-year-old Dr Singh told reporters yesterday, standing alongside party chief Sonia Gandhi.
'I express my deep sense of gratitude to the people of the country for the massive mandate they have given us.'
Not since 1991, when Congress gained from a sympathy wave following Mr Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, has the party turned in such a strong showing. On the other hand, the BJP has had its worst performance in 20 years.
Dr Singh gave much credit for Congress' success to Mr Rajiv Gandhi's son, first-time MP Rahul Gandhi, praising his 'tireless work' and expressing the hope that he would be able to convince the younger man to join his Cabinet.
This time, it appears that Mr Rahul Gandhi, 38, may relent. That would set the stage for a leadership transition that may take place as early as 2011, when Mr Rahul Gandhi settles into his 40s.
The Congress victory is bound to boost financial markets when they open tomorrow, given Dr Singh's pivotal role in India's economic liberalisation.
'The stage is set for a new wave of reforms,' said Mr Harsh Pati Singhania, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
The decisive mandate also bodes well for foreign policy, with the Singh government having several tricky issues on its hands, from a markedly less friendly Obama administration in the United States to a newly assertive China.
But the election results were a kiss of death for the prime ministerial ambitions of Mr Lal Krishna Advani. The 81-year-old BJP leader has said he will quit politics if the BJP does not win this time.
Congress swept the seven seats in the capital Delhi, all five seats it contested in Mumbai and retained its firm grip on the vote-rich state of Andhra Pradesh, which sends 42 MPs to Parliament. It also gained seats in Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
In his hour of triumph, Dr Singh showed magnanimity to the allies who had deserted him in the run-up to the polls. The Congress party, he said, would welcome help from all secular parties to provide a stable government for the country.
That message was read to include the Left parties that had ditched his government last July, forcing a crisis that nearly toppled Dr Singh.
[email protected] [email protected]
