India's 2004 National Elections (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
July 12, 2004 |
| Report Number |
RL32465 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
K. Alan Kronstadt |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
U.S. relations with India depend largely on India's political leadership. India's 2004 national
elections ended governance by the center-right coalition headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee and brought in a new center-left coalition led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Following the upset victory for the historically-dominant Indian National Congress Party led by
Sonia Gandhi, Gandhi declined the post of Prime Minister in the new left-leaning United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) coalition government, instead nominating her party lieutenant, Oxford-educated
economist Manmohan Singh, for the job. As Finance Minister from 1991-1996, Singh was the
architect of major Indian economic reform and liberalization efforts. On May 22, the
widely-esteemed Sikh became India's first-ever non-Hindu Prime Minister. The defeated Bharatiya
Janata Party now sits in opposition at the national level, led in Parliament by former Deputy Prime
Minister Lal Advani. A coalition of communist parties supports the UPA, but New Delhi's
economic, foreign, and security policies are not expected to be significantly altered. The new
government has vowed to continue close and positive engagement with the United States in all areas.
This report, which will not be updated, provides an overview of the elections, key parties, and U.S.
policy interests.
