Politics: India: Congress Party win in India exceeds expectations, may allow shedding Communists [etc] support

Aussie press analyzes election results reported from India.

India's Congress party is putting together a government, after steering the ruling alliance to victory in the nation's staggered general election.

The main task is to decide which parties to approach, in order to secure a parliamentary majority, having just fallen short of the 272 seat majority required to rule alone. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP [a Hindu nationalist party regarded as anti-Muslim and anti-Christian] managed a mere 159 seats. ... the election was a big surprise for everyone. We were expecting a tie between the Congress-led group and the BJP-led group, two weeks of horse trading. The Congress has now got a big majority with its group in its own right. It can pick and choose [which political parties among its campaign partners will become cabinet partners in the governing coalition]. It's going to be a far more stable coalition, because it will not be dependent so much on support from outside -- from the left groups, especially the Communist Party marxist.

Radio Australia "India's Congress Party surprises with emphatic victory" (May18,2k9).