President may have a tough task choosing PM

With predictions of a highly-fractured verdict in the Lok Sabha elections, President Pratibha Patil is likely to have a tough task ahead on choosing the next Prime Minister who has to provide a stable government.

With predictions of a highly-fractured verdict in the Lok Sabha elections, President Pratibha Patil is likely to have a tough task ahead on choosing the next Prime Minister who has to provide a stable government.

As results come out tomorrow, the President has a lot of precedents to go by in the formation of the next government with coalition being order of the day ever since 1989.

Rashtrapati Bhawan sources said the President has been having in-house discussions but was yet to call in Constitution experts without the results in hand.

As exit polls have predicted a tight race with a slight edge for the UPA but none of the formations getting a clear majority, legal experts feel she should exercise her power in way that which ever combination she invites should be able to provide stable government.

Experts Shanti Bhushan, Rajiv Dhawan and P P Rao were of the opinion that it is stability and not the numbers in the coalition which should be a factor to be considered by the President.

Bhushan, a former Law Minister, said there are no prescribed rules for inviting political parties and the President can invite a party or an alliance to form a government. There are various criteria on which a leader can be invited to head the government.

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