Who will become the next Prime Minister of India

In the General Elections 2009 in India there are three fronts contesting for forming the Government.

The three major fronts are:-

• United Progressive Alliance / UPA
• The National Democratic Alliance / NDA
• The Third Front

UPA is the present ruling coalition of political parties heading the Government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress, the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha/ the lower house of the parliament of India . The Prime Minister of India,Dr. Manmohan Singh, and the Council of Ministers are members of the UPA. Mrs.Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Indian National Congress is the current Chairperson of the UPA.

The following political parties are in the UPA:

• Indian National Congress
• Rashtriya Janata Dal
• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam/DMK
• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
• Jammu and Kashmir National Conference
• Samajwadi Party
• Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK)

The National Democratic Alliance / NDA is a coalition of anti-Congress and anti-left political parties in India, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had 13 constituent parties at the time of its formation in 1998. The convenor of NDA is Mr.Sharad Yadav, and its Honorary Chairman is the former Prime Minister of India Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mr.Lal Krishna Advani, is the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha; Mr. Jaswant Singh, is Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha; and Mr.Charanjit Singh Atwal, who is the Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha are all from NDA.

The following political parties are in NDA:

• Bharatiya Janata Party
• Shiv Sena
• Biju Janata Dal
• Shiromani Akali Dal
• Janata Dal (United)
• Asom Gana Parishad
• Rashtriya Lok Dal
• Indian National Lok Dal
• Nagaland Peoples Front
• Manipur People’s Party
• United Democratic Party

The Third Front consists of Leftist (Communist) and other Regional parties of India. The following political parties are in the Third Front:

• Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• Communist Party of India
• Telugu Desam Party
• Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
• All India Forward Bloc
• Janata Dal (Secular)
• Revolutionary Socialist Party

As at present the Prime Ministerial candidates from the above three fronts are as below:-

In the ruling UDA Dr. Manmohan Singh is said to be the candidate for the Prime Minister.  However, there is an opinion that Mr. Rahul Gandhi will be the candidate for Prime Minister.

However, the Prime Minister-Candidate for 2014 is yet to be declared by the Indian National Congress.

In the NDA, Mr. Narendra Modi is the candidate for Prime Minister, as declared by the BJP.

In the third front, the candidate for Prime Minister has not yet been announced by the front.

However, there is a guess that Ms. Mayawati, the present Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh will be the candidate for Prime Minister, as she has expressed her willingness to become the Prime Minister.

The following persons will a vital role in deciding the next Prime Minister of India:-

• Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
  
• Mr. Sharad Pawar
  
• Mr.Arun Jaitley
  
• Ms. Mayawati