EFL - that damn Indian obsession with Ghandi - they even elected an Italian who was married to a Ghandi
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigned Thursday after his governing coalition lost the parliamentary election, ending his nearly six years in power, local news media reported. Vajpayee’s Bharatiya Janata Party had said he would hand his resignation to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the ornate presidential palace, and his office said he would later address the nation on state-run television. No official announcement was immediately made, but the Press Trust of India news agency and other news media reported that Vajpayee had quit.
When the new Parliament convenes, possibly next week, Vajpayee will remain the leader of the National Democratic Alliance of 11 parties with whom he governed and fought the election, his defense minister, George Fernandes, said. Earlier Thursday, results showed India’s opposition Congress Party captured the most seats in parliamentary elections, a stunning defeat for Vajpayee that was almost certain to return the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to power. Vajpayee’s ruling party conceded defeat, opening the way for Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, to become the country’s leader. It was one of the most dramatic political upsets since Indian independence almost 60 years ago. The results reflected the feeling by millions of India’s rural poor that they had been left out of the economic boom promoted by the BJP government. |