Indian Election: 55 per cent turnout in second round; Cong allies keep options open

By M Rama Rao, India Editor, Asian Tribune

New Delhi, 24 April (Asiantribune.com): Severe heat wave sweeping through India limited the turn out to 55 per cent in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections covering 222,350 polling stations in 140 constituencies across 12 states. There were 2,034 candidates in the fray.

The Thursday polling marked the mid-way mark for the Lok Sabha election as fortunes of candidates for half of the seats at stake have been sealed by now.

With projections that the Congress may not be doing as strongly as pollsters expected at the very outset, though it is still going to be the front runner in seat sweepstakes, the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has come to resemble United Prime Ministers Alliance with so many contenders for the top job.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said the prime minister would be decided only after the elections. He is himself in the race with a certificate for his experience from none other than Jayalalithaa of AIADMK.

RJD and LJP agreed with him though Lok Jansakti Party's Ram Vilas Paswan said they would consider nobody else but Manmohan Singh for the post.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad said if the UPA fell short of a majority in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, ‘we have kept open a window for the Left’.

CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat, however, asserted that there was no question of backing a government led by the Congress. ‘No government is possible with the Congress. They should realise that’, he said prompting the Congress spokesman Jayanti Natarajan to reject the formulation. Her senior colleague, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said ‘only Manmohan Singh would hold the top post, if Congress-led coalition comes to power at the Centre’.

- Asian Tribune -