NEW DELHI, May 16: Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be sworn in as the next prime minister of India this week, possibly on Wednesday, her coalitions partners announced on Sunday.
Ms Gandhi will meet President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Monday to stake her claim as the chosen leader of the 14th Lok Sabha with written letters of support from all her coalition partners.
Together with the written support of India's two main communist parties, who have yet to decide if they will be joining her government or stay outside, she has a comfortable majority.
The communist parties are expected to decide whether to join the government or to support it from outside after their party meetings on Monday. Mr Kalam is expected to invite Ms Gandhi on Wednesday to be sworn in as prime minister, along with a small group of ministers she plans to propose.
Two of her women rivals from the rightwing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party have threatened to resign in protest, although the BJP officially distanced itself from the move. It however disapproves of Ms Gandhi's leadership because she is Italian-born.
But the Congress leader on Sunday got the crucial letters of support from all her coalition partners, and the two communist groups, which gives her an absolute majority in the 543-member Lok Sabha. Her biggest cheerleader was Laloo Prasad Yadav, her ally in Bihar.
Uncertainties about Samajwadi Party of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, considered close to Reliance Industries, also waned as a senior leader of the party offered her unconditional support, even though a letter was not known to have been given till late on Sunday night.
Another important party expected to join the chorus of support for Ms Gandhi is the Bahujan Samaj Party. Two Sikhs, one a communist leader, the other a pro-market former finance minister of the Congress Party, were hammering out a Common Minimum Programme.
The draft programme being prepared by Harkishan Singh Surjeet, head of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, and Dr Manmohan Singh of Congress, would then be circulated among the constituents of the new coalition. Laloo Yadav said a proper name was being considered for the left-leaning coalition.
Stock markets have crashed over the prospects of leftist control of the new government. Ms Gandhi's name was proposed for the post by DMK party chief, M Karunanidhi. It was seconded by Bihar leader Laloo Yadav, Na tionalist Communist Party chief Sharad Pawar and all other leaders.
Ms Gandhi held a meeting with leaders of Congress' pre-poll allies to discuss government formation and the issue of Common Minimum Programme. Among the leaders who attended the meeting were communist stalwart Jyoti Basu and Mr Surjeet, A B Bardhan and D Raja of Communist Party of India, Mr Karunanidhi, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Dalit leader Ramvilas Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party, Sharad Pawar of the NCP, Shibu Soren of the Jharkhan Mukti Morcha, Mehbooba Mufti of the Kashmir's People's Democratic Party and Chandrashekhar Rao of the Telenagana Party.
Most of the allies of Congress, including the CPI, CPI (M) and DMK, have given letters supporting Gandhi for government formation. Former information minister Sushma Swaraj and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti were reported to be contemplating resignations rather than addressing Ms Gandhi as prime minister.
There were reports that both the women would have their heads. Ms Gandhi had trounced Ms Swaraj by a huge margin in Bellary in the 1999 elections. Their Hindutva allies are expected to stage protests too.
