Ruling Congress alliance wins new mandate in general elections

India's ruling Congress alliance is set to return to power after the Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat in general elections. Congress will likely fall short of a majority in parliament and must form a new government by June 2.ndia's Hindu nationalist BJP on Saturday conceded defeat to the incumbent Congress party in general elections."It is clear that the Congress-led alliance is coming in as the biggest group in parliament. We accept this verdict of the people," senior Bharatiya Janata Party official Arun Jaitley told a news conference."Something certainly did go wrong, and something certainly did go in favour" of the Congress party, he said.As results poured in from the Election Commission, projections by television news channels gave the Congress grouping as many as 250 seats against 160 for the main opposition bloc headed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)."It is a decisive vote for the Congress," said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, as wild celebrations broke out at the party headquarters in New Delhi.Although the Congress alliance was still expected to fall short of the 272 seats required for a majority in the 543-seat parliament, its apparent margin of victory was much wider than exit polls had predicted.A shortfall of just 20 to 30 seats would allow it to pick and choose from India's myriad regional parties to make up the numbers needed for a viable government.Congress was expected to pick up more than 190 seats in its own right -- the party's best showing since 1991.Outside the party headquarters, supporters banged drums and danced in the street, holding portraits of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Political analyst Neerja Choudhury said India's 714-million electorate had voted for stability."I feel that people did not want anything divisive in these times of uncertainty. They felt that Manmohan Singh, being an economist, can handle the economy for instance," Choudhury said.After five successive years of near-double digit growth that lent the country the international clout it has long sought, the Indian economy has been badly hit by the global downturn.