India’s Congress party celebrated a landslide election victory after winning 206 seats in the month-long voting process in May. Teaming up with two regional parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, the Congress coalition, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), was able to form a healthy majority in parliament.
Significantly, the UPA did not have to rely on the support of the Communist Party, as it did in its previous term, giving Prime Minister Manmohan Singh greater freedom to pursue a reformist agenda.
The result was widely welcomed in India and internationally, giving rise to high expectations of what the new government will be able to achieve. Topping its list of priorities are poverty reduction, infrastructure improvements, efficient healthcare and education provision, and affordable housing.
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