India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress-led coalition was heading for a second term after a clear victory in the general election, according to vote counting trends from the election commission. Singh's Congress-led coalition, riding on the back of years of economic growth, did better than expected and will probably be only just short of an outright majority. That means it may find it easier to form a stable coalition with smaller parties, Reuters reported. The main opposition nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, conceded defeat saying the Congress had the biggest mandate. "I think if Congress wants to compliment some of its leaders in this hour of victory, I think they're entitled to do so,' senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said as votes were still being counted. The Congress party-led coalition was projected to win 253 seats, short of the 272 needed for a parliamentary majority, according to NDTV. The BJP-led alliance would take 160 seats and a Third Front of communist and smaller groups 87 seats, the TV channel said. "The results are pleasantly surprising, we were not so confident at the beginning but now we are very confident and we will secure a majority," Congress leader Oscar Fernandez said. The Congress on its own was ahead in 192 seats, a better showing than the last election, the election commission data showed, strengthening its hands in choosing allies.UPA leads in 250 seats, NDA in 157.
