India's 2004 National Elections

Publication Date: July 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Government

Type:

Coverage: India

Abstract:

U.S. relations with India depend largely on India's political leadership. India's 2004 national elections ended governance by the center-right coalition headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and brought in a new center-left coalition led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Following the upset victory for the historically-dominant Indian National Congress Party led by Sonia Gandhi, Gandhi declined the post of Prime Minister in the new left-leaning United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government, instead nominating her party lieutenant, Oxford-educated economist Manmohan Singh, for the job. As Finance Minister from 1991-1996, Singh was the architect of major Indian economic reform and liberalization efforts. On May 22, the widely-esteemed Sikh became India's firstever non-Hindu Prime Minister. The defeated Bharatiya Janata Party now sits in opposition at the national level, led in Parliament by former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Advani. A coalition of communist parties supports the UPA, but New Delhi's economic, foreign, and security policies are not expected to be significantly altered. The new government has vowed to continue close and positive engagement with the United States in all areas. This report, which will not be updated, provides an overview of the elections, key parties, and U.S. policy interests.