Indian PM to step down after May election

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday that he will step down after his country’s national elections due in May.


“In a few months’ time, after the general election, I will hand the baton over to a new prime minister,” Singh told a news conference in New Delhi.

The 81-year-old Oxford-educated Singh has been prime minister for India’s governing Congress party since May 2004.

His move to rule himself out of the race for the top job in this year’s general elections didn’t surprise political observers.

His party suffered a bruising defeat in regional elections in December, billed by the country’s news media as an indicator of political trends ahead of the upcoming national vote.

“There’s nothing surprising about it.,” said K.G. Suresh, a political commentator. “The way the Congress party failed in the semi-finals, it was a settled affair that Dr. Manmohan Singh will not be its face in the general elections.”

A rash of corruption scandals has also undermined the reputation of Singh’s coalition government over the past few years.