Former Premier Is Party’s Candidate to Lead India
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NEW DELHI — A former prime minister seen as the soft voice of his Hindu nationalist party was selected Saturday as a candidate to become India’s next leader.
Newly elected lawmakers of the Bharatiya Janata Party unanimously chose Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was prime minister for 13 days in a BJP government that collapsed in 1996.
The choice for premier is a sign of the party’s confidence that it will be asked to form a new government, even though it remains short of the votes needed for a majority in Parliament.
By law, the president decides on the party to be given the first chance to put together a government if no party wins the right to govern alone.
The BJP did not discuss the task of finding coalition partners.
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