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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Archived_Member16" data-source="post: 98791" data-attributes="member: 884">Manmohan Singh likely to be ousted as prime minister,  says ally Manmohan Singh, the face of India's  emergence as a global economic power, is likely to be ousted as prime minister  in the elections which begin on Thursday, a key ally has claimed.     By Dean Nelson in New Delhi Last Updated: 5:09PM BST  15 Apr 2009  <img src="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01384/ManmohanSingh_1384788c.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Photo: REUTERS  As Indians begin four weeks of voting in the biggest  democratic election in human history, the man who saved Mr Singh's Congress-led  government last year told The Daily Telegraph he is likely to be replaced by  leaders of India's lower castes. The political demise of Mr Singh would be mourned in  Britain and the United States, where he is admired as the man who oversaw  India's rise to become the world's second fastest-growing economy. The Congress Party prime minister narrowly survived a  confidence vote last July when its Communist-led allies resigned in protest  after he signed a controversial nuclear deal with the United States, which  critics claimed ended India's traditional non-aligned stand. Singh stood firm and argued that India needed American  support to upgrade its nuclear industry to meet the country's insatiable demand  for electricity. The deal effectively made India and the United States strategic  partners in Asia. The government and the nuclear deal were saved when Amar  Singh, a colourful and influential politician from Uttar Pradesh swung his  Samajwadi Party colleagues behind the government, which survived the test with  three votes to spare. But last night, Mr Singh, who counts Bollywood's biggest  star, Amitabh Bachchan, and former US President Bill Clinton among his friends,  said Congress had lost its clout among its former allies and it was unlikely  Manmohan Singh would return as prime minister. He said the coming election would see the two main  parties, Congress and the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), lose  ground while the influence of smaller left and caste-based parties would emerge  stronger. The decline of the two largest parties and the growing  influence of dalits and other 'backward' castes has become the defining feature  of Indian politics in the last decade. With no single party strong enough to  muster a majority, coalition-building has become the key skill. Congress however has alienated most of its key allies and  failed to seal a seat-sharing agreement which could have strengthened its  prospects. In two key states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, negotiations collapsed  and Congress will now stand against several of its strongest allies. Their leaders have accused Congress of arrogance and  bullying and are determined to humble the party in the negotiations following  the close of polling on May 13th. According to Amar Singh, Congress will return to  government, but as partners rather than leaders, and prime minister Manmohan  Singh will be ousted as prime minister. "There can't be a government without Congress but it  won't be Congress-led. They will be in a weaker position. It will be too  difficult for Manmohan Singh [to return as prime minister] because there is a  dogma around him, because he joined forces with the Americans," he  said. He predicted his own party leader, Mulayam Singh Yadav  will emerge as prime minister with the support of the Communist-led 'Third  Front' and the backing of his 'backward caste' allies in Bihar. Those allies, including Railways minister Lalu Prasad  Yadav, and Steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan, are likely to join with the  Communist alliance to minimise Congress influence in a new government, Mr Singh  said. This revelation will come as a shock in India, where the  Third Front leaders had reached out to Uttar Pradesh's charismatic chief  minister Mayawati. But according to Mr Singh, she will be dropped as a price of  their members joining the new government. He said on the ground issues like power supply and water  would be important, but the election will be dominated by "the three Cs – cash,  criminals and caste. "Rural India is still not up to the mark. People are  saying prices are too high, they're not protected from criminals, and they are  held back by the caste system," he said.  source: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/5159166/Manmohan-Singh-likely-to-be-ousted-as-prime-minister-says-ally.html" target="_blank">Manmohan Singh likely to be ousted as prime minister, says ally - Telegraph</a></blockquote>

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