Uncertainty Grows Over Gandhi Premiership

Doubts were today growing over whether Sonia Gandhi, widely expected to have been named as India's new prime minister by now, would take up the post.

The first questions about her intentions arose earlier today when she met the Indian president to discuss forming the next government, but left without staking a formal claim to power.

When the leader of the biggest vote-wielding bloc in parliament is invited to the presidential palace, they usually leave with the title of prime minister. However, Ms Gandhi - who leads the Congress party - left the ornate building empty-handed.

After the meeting, she insisted she was still confident of forming a government, despite fears over the stability of her alliance with communist parties and their influence on economic policy. She said she would meet the president, Abdul Kalam, again tomorrow to complete the negotiations.

Asked when she would form a government, Ms Gandhi said: "At the earliest." Neither she nor the president's office commented on why Mr Kalam had not named her as prime minister.

However, reports have started to emerge in the India media, claiming that she was backing away from being prime minister - possibly because of her family's concerns for her safety - and was instead forwarding the names of Congress finance ministers Manmohan Singh and Pranab Kumar Mukerjee.

The Times of India cited an unnamed "senior party leader" as saying that Ms Gandhi had declined to become the prime minister, despite having led her party to a spectacular comeback in elections last week. The source told the paper she had made her decision known to the party last night.

Congress MP Somnath Chatterjee appeared to back the media speculation, saying he had been informed that Ms Gandhi was "considering the position again".

He said she would make an announcement later today, adding: "There are rumours that her children are against her becoming prime minister, maybe because of security reasons. It's their family matter," he added.

However, Oscar Fernandes, a Congress party general secretary, insisted there was "nothing to sort out", denying rumours that Ms Gandhi was hesitant about becoming prime minister. "The president asked for letters of support, and she will hand them in tomorrow," he told the Associated Press.

After days of frantic deal-making, the heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has won the backing of more than 320 members of the new 545-seat lower house of parliament.

Far-left parties, which have more than 60 of the new parliament's seats, decided not to formally join the coalition, creating uncertainty among investors and extending losses that wiped more than $30bn off the value of India's listed companies over three weeks. The rupee and bonds also fell.

However, the stock market today bounced back on reports that Ms Gandhi was reconsidering whether to take the prime minister's post.

The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, was up 8.6 % at the close of trading, a day after the worst falls in its 129-year history.