Key regional allies of India's ruling Congress are putting pressure on the party to cede the leadership of the coalition if it comes to power after a general election ending in May. More than 100 million voters from across swathes of central and southern India took part in the second of five stages of the month-long vote on Thursday, with experts predicting the overall result could produce a weak coalition. Three party allies of the government say that a non-Congress politician may be needed as prime minister to appease the communists, whose parliamentary support may prove vital but who have refused to back any coalition led by the ruling party. The wrangling points to the difficulties of political alliances building in India where smaller caste and region based parties will almost certainly hold the balance of power and influence policy making in any new government. The RJD and LJP, while allies of Congress, are seen as open to lending support to whichever political formulation needs them to govern. Opinion polls put the Congress-led coalition slightly ahead of a group led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. But it could still need the support of smaller regional parties and the communists, who formed the third largest grouping in parliament after the 2004 elections. The NCP has also said the issue of prime minister would have to be discussed after the election. “The Congress has every right to declare Singh as prime minister. But when you take a decision on behalf of the UPA, you will have to sit together and decide,” NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Friday. Pawar is seen as acceptable for the top job by many of UPA allies and even the communists.
