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PacNet #38 – Verdict India 2009: Congress Rises with its Heir

On May 17, incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won a famous victory in the 15th general election to the lower house of India’s Parliament, the Lok Sabha. Exceeding the most optimistic pre-election forecast of even his party’s pollsters, the governing Congress Party secured 206 seats out of a possible 543. Together, the Congress Party-led center-left coalition – the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) – extended its tally to 262, just 10 seats short of an outright majority.