Singh govt. ready to take reins again

NEW DELHI, May 17 (UPI) -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition, with a decisive election win, readied to assume power again as stock markets poised for a big rally Monday.

India's voters Saturday gave Singh's Congress party a win big enough to bring its United Progressive Alliance coalition back to power. The victory was sweeter for the Singh coalition as it will no longer be burdened by the leftist parties, which were soundly defeated.

Singh, who helped author India's economic reform in the 1990s, will hold the prime ministerial job for the second time after completing his first five-year term, CNN reported.

The election win also was credited to Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born president of the Congress party and widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and her son Rahul, who campaigned hard.

In the final tally, the Congress-led coalition won 262 seats in the 543-member lower house of Parliament. Most analysts said the group will have no problem is wooing members from independents and other parties to gain majority in the house.

The country's attention is now on the new Cabinet the Singh government must pick. Experts say Singh will retain those ministers who held the top posts like defense, home, foreign affairs and finance prior to the election. Rahul Gandhi may also be persuaded to join the Cabinet.

President Barack Obama, who praised the elections as strengthening India's democracy, assured the United States will work to "enhance the warm partnership between our two countries," the BBC reported.

The Indian stock exchange was expected to rally as many as 1,000 points Monday, relieved that the new government will not be influenced by leftist parties, the Press Trust of India reported.