Congress elects Singh as leader

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/8056845.stm

Version 0 of 1.

India's Congress party has elected Manmohan Singh as its leader in parliament, setting the stage for his return as prime minister.

Party president Sonia Gandhi put Mr Singh's name forward and it was approved unanimously.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Singh promised to work to reverse the economic slowdown in India.

Mr Singh led the Congress party to a surprise landslide in the recent general elections.

On Monday, he resigned along with his cabinet to facilitate the formation of the new government.

The president is expected to invite him to form a government on Tuesday. In the interim, Mr Singh will continue as PM.

The Congress-led alliance won 262 seats with the main opposition BJP-led group getting 158.

'Thumping of desks'

The newly-elected Congress party MPs met on Tuesday and unanimously elected Manmohan Singh as the leader of the Congress parliamentary party.

Mr Singh was greeted by the party president Sonia Gandhi with a bouquet of flowers.

Younger faces are expected in the new cabinet

Mrs Gandhi proposed Mr Singh's name and it was immediately approved by thumping of desks by the lawmakers, news agency Reuters reported.

"Economic slowdown has hurt us, we will have to reverse it," Mr Singh said in his acceptance speech.

"The nation expects us to work with vigour and dedication," he said.

The Congress party, which alone won 206 seats, needs a handful of partners to reach the necessary 272 to be able to form a government.

Congress leaders have already been meeting smaller parties to gain the few seats needed to form a workable coalition.

On Tuesday, Ms Mayawati - low-caste Dalit chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state - pledged the support of her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to the Congress-led coalition.

The BSP won 21 seats in parliament.

On Monday, another regional party - the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of former railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, also pledged its support to the new government.

The focus now moves to cabinet formation, with Mr Singh having already stressed the importance of youth.

He has said he hopes to persuade the rising star of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty - Rahul Gandhi - to join the cabinet.

Mr Gandhi's decision for Congress to go it alone in India's most politically important state - Uttar Pradesh - and the ease of his campaigning style have won many plaudits.

Several ministers were defeated - including those for steel, women and child development and minority affairs - so there will be fresh faces.

The scale of the Congress victory has surprised almost everyone in India and hopes for a strong stable government have risen.

Manmohan Singh is the first prime minister to be re-elected after serving a full first term since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961.

India's new government must convene by 2 June.