You read it here before the Los Angeles Times published it!
A short time ago, 275 members of India’s lower house of Parliament voted in favor of the government and 256 against it. This means that the UPA coalition government of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will stay in power.
The crisis arose when Singh’s government decided to press ahead with the next step of the US-India Civil Nuclear Accord, even though its coalition partner, the Communist party, announced that it would withdraw support for the government.
A small party in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party led by former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, decided to support the UPA government.
General elections are due in India in 2009. The historic Civil Nuclear Agreement, which will (eventually) enable India to buy uranium for its power plants (even though it has exploded a nuclear device and not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty) will require additional steps in the U.S. Congress.
For US-India business interests, this is a good step. Pre-mature elections would have caused uncertainty in an economy already hit by food and fuel inflation.
