NCP will support Manmohan Singh as PM: Pawar

Mumbai, May 16 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has said his party will support Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister.

"After this result, how can anyone else's subject crop up," said Pawar, who had made his prime ministerial ambitions clear before the vote count.

A stable government is the need of the hour in these times of global recession, and the people of India have give their mandate to the UPA, Pawar said.

"People were confident that only the UPA could provide a stable government, and with the results and trends available so far, there should be no hindrance to the formation of a stable government," Pawar told reporters here.

With trends indicating a clear edge to the UPA, an elated Congress on Saturday claimed that it would sweep the elections and hinted at expanding the UPA by including "more secular parties".

"We will sweep the election. The Congress and its allies will form the government. More secular parties can join us. Discussions are on in this regard," NDTV quoted senior Congress leader Motilal Vora, as saying.

Answering a question about the Congress' rise in the Hindi heartland, Vora said, "The Congress is bettering its performance in UP because people have understood that only the Congress can guarantee development for them."

Vora also praised the Gandhi family and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a good performance in UP. (ANI)