The Hindu Business Line : Sonia to be PM; likely to take oath tomorrow

IT'S finally official: Ms Sonia Gandhi will be the country's Prime Minister. The President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has formally invited the Congress (I) President to form a Government at the Centre and she is likely to be sworn in on Wednesday.

Ms Gandhi will meet Dr Kalam on Tuesday morning to formally stake claim for heading a coalition United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, in which the Congress (I) with 145 Members of Parliament (MP) will be the largest party. Some of the Congress (I)'s pre-poll alliance partners such as the 21-member Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Lok Jansakthi Party are also expected to be part of the Government.

The Left Parties, who constitute the third largest pre-poll formation with 60 MPs, have, on the other hand, decided to support the Government from outside. The Central Committee of the CPI(M), which is the main Left Party, took this decision at the end of a three-day stormy meeting. The DMK, the MDMK, the PMK and Mr Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — all pre-Poll allies of the Congress (I) Government — have also decided to stay out of the Government for the time being. The Samajvadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Rashtriya Lok Dal of Mr Ajit Singh — who, like the Left parties, fought against the Congress (I) in the recent polls — have also offered outside support to the UPA Government, giving it a comfortable cushion over the 272 mid-way mark in Parliament.