Singh is King

My elder bro who was on duty in counting told me that UPA is again in power. In India, the ruling Congress-led coalition has secured a decisive victory in general elections, paving the way for a stable coalition government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. With most votes counted, the Congress party led alliance had led in 260 seats, while the bloc led by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party trailed with about 160 seats. The news that the Congress Party led coalition was racing to victory came within hours after vote counting began Saturday, surprising a country which had been bracing for a fractured verdict. Even before the final results were in, a smiling Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, thanked people for a "massive mandate." "It will be our effort to rise to the expectations of our people, to give them a government which is a caring government, which represents the best instincts of Indian polity, which works for sustained and equitable development, which protects the secular values," he said. The Congress Party will head a coalition government. The alliance it heads is slightly short of a clear majority in the 543-seat parliament, but it can easily pick up support from small parties and independent lawmakers to bridge the gap. This has set at rest fears that the country will have a weak, unstable coalition, dependent on a host of unreliable partners. In fact the Congress Party has emerged hugely strengthened, winning more seats than the most optimistic projections. It has picked up about 190 seats on its own - it's best performance in nearly two decades. The Congress Party dominated Indian politics since the country's independence, but saw is share of votes slip in recent elections. The president of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, who is credited with reviving the party's fortunes, said people have made "the right choice." "People have appreciated the fact that we have worked hard, that we do think of them, that we work for them with sincerity and dedication," she said. Congress party supporters celebrated through the country, setting off firecrackers and dancing in the streets. The Congress Party attributed its showing in the polls to the work it has done for the rural poor, who make up the bulk of India's voters. Good news for the Congress Party was bad news for its main rival, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, which saw its share of seats slip compared to 2004. Few had expected the BJP to win, but the party had hoped to put up a good fight. "It is a disappointment, but like all good matches, one loses, one wins, we have lost, but with the hope we will come back again strongly," said Siddharth Nath, spokesman for the party.
The elections also dealt a blow to leftist, regional parties and caste-based parties, which fared poorly, ending their hopes of playing a dominant role at the national level. India's new parliament must be seated by June 2.

FOREX News -Yen, dlr fall as shares rise, sentiment improves

The yen fell to two-week lows against the dollar and the euro on Friday, while the dollar also fell versus both the euro and perceived higher-risk currencies as investors hope the worst may be over for the global economy. Risk appetite has been boosted by recent global economic data and a note of optimism from the U.S. Federal Reserve earlier this week. Currencies regarded as higher-risk such as the Australian dollar benefited strongly, and a rise in U.S. stock futures also helped sentiment with the S&P 500 futures SPc1 up 0.3 percent. Trading was thin and relatively volatile, however, with European markets closed due to the May Day holiday. "It's very quiet, with movements largely flow-driven, but there's still a slight bid to risk," RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Christian Lawrence said. "Currencies continue to be driven by equities and risk appetite and the riskier, commodity-based currencies have outperformed against the perceived safe-haven yen and dollar," he said. At 1011 GMT, the euro rose 1.2 percent against the yen to 131.86 yen, just shy of an earlier two-week high around 132.00 yen , while the dollar gained 0.8 percent to 99.34 yen , having hit a two-week high around 99.58 yen. The euro rose 0.4 percent against the dollar to $1.3272 , which helped to push the dollar's trade-weighted index down 0.3 percent to 84.554 .DXY.