by Mizzima News
Saturday, 16 May 2009 18:42
New Delhi - India’s ruling coalition the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance is set to storm back to power after streaking ahead of the National Democratic Alliance towards victory during Saturday’s vote count of the month-long 15th Parliamentary election.
According to the Election Commission’s website, the Indian National Congress and its allies won 255 out of the total seats of 543, while the main opposition bloc led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the National Democratic Alliance won 162 seats.
Though projections showed the Congress bloc still falling short of the 272 seats required for an absolute majority, the margin of its lead indicates they will form the next government.
The Congress-led UPA came to power in 2004 after defeating the National Democratic Alliance led by the Hindu nationalist BJP. But the Congress did not enjoy an absolute majority and needed to be shored up by other minority parties including the Leftists.
The Congress is currently led by the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s wife Sonia Gandhi and is a major political party that has been ruling through most of India’s post-independence period until the BJP, a right-wing political party, emerged as another formidable political party in 1998.
The Congress under the leadership of P.V. Narasimha Rao, who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1991-1996, formulated the ‘Look East Policy” and implemented a market driven economy, a shift from the old socialist economy.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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