NEW DELHI, May 16 (Reuters) - Following are highlights from the vote count in India's general election on Saturday.
For an analyst's view, click on
* India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's left-of-centre coalition was heading for a second term after a clear victory in the general election, according to vote counting trends from the election commission.
Singh's Congress-led coalition, riding on the back of years of economic growth, did better than expected and will probably be only just short of an outright majority. That means it may find it easier to form a stable coalition with smaller parties.
* 'Eventually the people of India know what's good for them and they always make the right choice,' said Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.
* Singh said he will try to persuade Rahul Gandhi, Sonia's son and scion of the Gandhi family, to join the cabinet: 'It is my wish that he should be in the cabinet. But I will have to persuade him.'
* 'The young people of this country and the poor people of this country have given this verdict,' Rahul Gandhi said.
* The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat as the election returns came in. 'The Congress has the biggest mandate,' said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. 'I think if Congress wants to compliment some of its leaders in this hour of victory, I think they're entitled to do so.'
* The Congress party-led coalition was projected to win 261 of the total 543 parliamentary seats at stake, state television said. BJP-led opposition was projected to win 157 seats.
To rule, a party or a coalition requires the support of 272 members of parliament.
* The 'Third Front', a loose coalition of smaller parties spearheaded by the communists, was ahead in 59 seats, state-run Doordarshan TV said.
* The communists were trailing in the election including in the state of West Bengal which they have ruled for more than three decades.
* Mayawati, the controversial chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who was tipped as a possible kingmaker, did not make significant inroads in her home state, which counts for the largest number of seats in parliament (80).
Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, which relies mainly on support from India's former 'untouchables', leads only in 19 seats in the state, according to NDTV news channel.
Congress leads in 21 in Uttar Pradesh, a huge jump from the nine seats it won in the last election.
* Sajjad Gani Lone, Kashmir's first separatist leader to contest the Indian election since a revolt broke out in the region two decades ago, lost.
Lone, who has opposed Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan state for years and later defied a long-standing policy of boycotting general elections, said he wanted to take Kashmir's 'freedom' struggle to parliament in New Delhi.
* ECONOMIC REFORMS
'The Congress will continue to carry out extensive reforms, but it will not be at the cost of the public sector,' said party spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi. 'We will sit with our allies and chalk out the details of the economic reforms programme.'
* MARKET ANALYSTS
SAMIR ARORA, fund manager, Helios Capital Management, Singapore: 'This is a dream for the market. You could not have thought of anything better than this.'
'The new government will not need the Left. Get ready for a 7-8 percent rally in the stock market on Monday. I don't expect them to do full-scale privatisation.'
(For comprehensive coverage of the Indian election please click on http://in.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/election2009)
(Compiled by Krittivas Mukherjee, Surojit Gupta and Matthias Williams; Editing by )
(krittivas.mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; +91-11-4178-1000; krittivas.mukherjee.reuters.com@reuters.net))Keywords: INDIA ELECTION/HIGHLIGHTS (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
For an analyst's view, click on
* India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's left-of-centre coalition was heading for a second term after a clear victory in the general election, according to vote counting trends from the election commission.
Singh's Congress-led coalition, riding on the back of years of economic growth, did better than expected and will probably be only just short of an outright majority. That means it may find it easier to form a stable coalition with smaller parties.
* 'Eventually the people of India know what's good for them and they always make the right choice,' said Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.
* Singh said he will try to persuade Rahul Gandhi, Sonia's son and scion of the Gandhi family, to join the cabinet: 'It is my wish that he should be in the cabinet. But I will have to persuade him.'
* 'The young people of this country and the poor people of this country have given this verdict,' Rahul Gandhi said.
* The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat as the election returns came in. 'The Congress has the biggest mandate,' said senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. 'I think if Congress wants to compliment some of its leaders in this hour of victory, I think they're entitled to do so.'
* The Congress party-led coalition was projected to win 261 of the total 543 parliamentary seats at stake, state television said. BJP-led opposition was projected to win 157 seats.
To rule, a party or a coalition requires the support of 272 members of parliament.
* The 'Third Front', a loose coalition of smaller parties spearheaded by the communists, was ahead in 59 seats, state-run Doordarshan TV said.
* The communists were trailing in the election including in the state of West Bengal which they have ruled for more than three decades.
* Mayawati, the controversial chief minister of Uttar Pradesh who was tipped as a possible kingmaker, did not make significant inroads in her home state, which counts for the largest number of seats in parliament (80).
Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, which relies mainly on support from India's former 'untouchables', leads only in 19 seats in the state, according to NDTV news channel.
Congress leads in 21 in Uttar Pradesh, a huge jump from the nine seats it won in the last election.
* Sajjad Gani Lone, Kashmir's first separatist leader to contest the Indian election since a revolt broke out in the region two decades ago, lost.
Lone, who has opposed Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan state for years and later defied a long-standing policy of boycotting general elections, said he wanted to take Kashmir's 'freedom' struggle to parliament in New Delhi.
* ECONOMIC REFORMS
'The Congress will continue to carry out extensive reforms, but it will not be at the cost of the public sector,' said party spokesman Janardhan Dwivedi. 'We will sit with our allies and chalk out the details of the economic reforms programme.'
* MARKET ANALYSTS
SAMIR ARORA, fund manager, Helios Capital Management, Singapore: 'This is a dream for the market. You could not have thought of anything better than this.'
'The new government will not need the Left. Get ready for a 7-8 percent rally in the stock market on Monday. I don't expect them to do full-scale privatisation.'
(For comprehensive coverage of the Indian election please click on http://in.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/election2009)
(Compiled by Krittivas Mukherjee, Surojit Gupta and Matthias Williams; Editing by )
(krittivas.mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; +91-11-4178-1000; krittivas.mukherjee.reuters.com@reuters.net))Keywords: INDIA ELECTION/HIGHLIGHTS (If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to newsfeedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.