One appreciates that the Congress is doing a difficult balancing act, refusing to be pushed around while trying to keep out regional leaders who regard a Union cabinet berth as a lottery ticket. It isn’t easy to apply a transparent formula for power-sharing to accommodate both allies and its own star performers. Pratik Kanjilal examines...

The mandate was for a coalition of like-minded, secular and progressive parties to lead the country. The voters will be disappointed to see such squabbling for office at the outset.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is set to be sworn in for the second term at 5 pm on Friday along with his ministers. Here is your chance to predict the ideal Cabinet and choose the candidates most worthy for the posts.

Today, many of the Congress’ estranged partners are bending over backwards to get on to its bandwagon. Rather, they are willing to crawl. Not so long ago, in 2004, they had extracted their pound of flesh. Now they are offering unconditional support, writes Kumkum Chadha.

 Noting that this victory comes with the “challenge of rising expectations,” the Prime Minister described this as a verdict for “inclusive growth”, “equitable development”, “a secular and plural India”. If this has to be translated into action, then the existing state of denial on the disastrous impact of the global economic recession must be discarded, writes Sitaram Yechury.

Few things more deserve the urgent consideration of the second Manmohan Singh government than internal security. The most pressing concern will be terrorism, both the imported variety and the homegrown one.

They got their basic training in debating and leadership skills in the legislative assembly and now 15 MLAs from Bihar are headed to the Lok Sabha to perfect their craft.

Uttar Pradesh has once again set a record of sending the maximum number of tainted MPs to the Lok Sabha - 31 of the state's 80 MPs have criminal cases pending against them. 

Election results never cease to surprise. Otherwise, how does one explain that in a decade between two Lok Sabha elections — in 1999 and 2009 — the Congress’s vote share increased by just 0.5 per cent to 28.6 per cent but its tally went up by 91 seats to 205 this time?

From being the third largest party in the outgoing Lok Sabha, the poor showing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the general elections has seen it slipping five places to lie eighth in the newly elected house - below even regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, the DMK and the Janata Dal-United.

The UPA victory will ensure continuity in the planning process during the remaining period of the ambitious 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12), at a time when the economy is braving the global financial meltdown.

The Congress party did not just retain power in Andhra Pradesh with a comfortable majority, but it put up an impressive show in all regions of the state in Elections 2009.

At a time when the ruling Badal family in Punjab should have been reviewing the Akali Dal's dismal show in Punjab's 2009 Lok Sabha elections, it seems to be rejoicing in its personal victory in the Bathinda seat.

The regional Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) has emerged as the biggest loser, while the minority-based Asom United Democratic Front (AUDF) has turned out to be a major spoiler for the ruling Congress party in the 2009 general elections in Assam.

About 714 million voters of India’s 1.1 billion people — twice the population of the US — did not want a coalition with no critical mass and common programme to steer the country, writes Zia Haq.