Gandhi family returns to power in India

NEW DELHI – The Gandhi political dynasty prepared for a return to power Thursday after a stunning election victory fueled by anger among millions of rural poor left behind by India’s economic boom.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee resigned Thursday night, leaving Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, to take the helm of the world’s largest democracy in one of the most dramatic political upsets since Indian independence nearly 60 years ago.

Gandhi immediately distanced herself from the Hindu nationalism of the outgoing government.

“We will take the lead to ensure our country has a strong, stable and secular government,” she told a news conference.

Gandhi, who spoke in both English and Hindi, shied away from saying whether she would become the next prime minister, offering only that it would be up to alliance leaders and the decision would be made Saturday.

Her Congress party, its allies and leftist parties collected 278 Parliament seats, a majority of the national legislature and enough to form a new Indian government, an official vote tally showed late Thursday.

Vajpayee campaigned on the country’s 8 percent growth rate, increased development and a surge in high-tech industries. But his decision to call the election six months early was a devastating miscalculation.

Gandhi, the Congress party’s leader, was touted as the next prime minister. However, she must form a coalition with leftist parties that could object to her taking the leadership role, in part because of her foreign origins.

Before the five-part elections, which began April 20, Vajpayee and his alliance had been expected to win enough seats to rule the country for another five years.

But the Congress party focused its campaign on India’s 300 million people who still live on less than a dollar a day. It hammered away at the lack of basic infrastructure, electricity and potable water for millions of rural poor.

During the news conference, Gandhi also pledged to continue peace efforts with Pakistan.

“From the very beginning, we’ve been supporting the prime minister’s initiative vis-a-vis Pakistan,” she said. “We have all along been saying a dialogue must be initiated with Pakistan. There is no question of us not following in those footsteps.”

The Gandhi dynasty has dominated Indian politics since independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, headed the country until his death in 1964. He was followed by his daughter, Indira Gandhi, who was killed by her own bodyguards in 1984.

Rajiv Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s son and Sonia Gandhi”s husband, took power and ruled until 1989. Two years later, he also was assassinated.

The family is not related to Mohandas Gandhi, India’s independence leader.

Associated Press

Congress party supporters celebrate Thursday in New Delhi, India, after the party won elections.

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