India's Congress-Led Coalition Seen With Strong Early Lead

By Sruthi Gottipati

India’s opposition leader Narendra Modi and his party won national elections in a landslide Friday, preliminary results showed, driving the long-dominant Congress party out of power in the most commanding victory India has seen in more than a quarter century. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party captured a commanding lead for at least 272 seats in the lower house of Parliament, the majority needed to create a government without forming a coalition with smaller parties.

The biggest story in India these days continues to be the May 2014 elections and what they could mean for India's economy which is growing at its slowest pace in a decade. Naturally analysts have been weighing in on the elections.

ANALYSIS

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's ruling Congress party, which surveys suggest will be ousted from power in elections due by May, called on Wednesday for opinion polls to be banned during the campaign after a TV news report alleged survey data was routinely manipulated.The News Express channel said a "sting operation" using hidden cameras had exposed malpractices by a clutch of polling agencies that included fudging numbers at the behest of political parties, sometimes for money.

ROME — Silvio Berlusconi made a stunning about-face Wednesday and threw his support behind the government of Premier Enrico Letta in a confidence vote, acknowledging defeat on the Senate floor after defections in his party robbed him of the backing he needed to bring down the government.

India is in desperate need of reforms.

A couple days ago Bloomberg reported Polls Indicate Merkel’s Coalition Is Likely to Win Election.