India's Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, resigned yesterday following a surprise election defeat that has opened the way for Ms Sonia Gandhi to become the first foreign-born leader to head the world's largest democracy.
Mr Vajpayee will stay as caretaker prime minister until a new government assumes office at the weekend.
"The Congress party will take the lead to ensure our country has a strong, stable and secular government at the earliest," a jubilant Ms Gandhi said at a hurried press conference in Delhi late in the evening. However, she remained non-committal on whether she would be prime minister.
"Over the next few days the process of government formation will gather momentum.
"The leader of the Congress party will be elected by the elected members of the Congress party [in parliament] which will be held tomorrow \," Ms Gandhi said.
Asked if the person then elected would become prime minister, she retorted: "Normally this is what happens."
The Congress party and its allies are keen that Ms Gandhi becomes the prime minister, but the unexpected victory and a lack of self-assurance has combined to make her somewhat hesitant for the moment, a party insider said.
She wants unanimous endorsement and time to consult her family and advisers, he added.
With counting almost over, the Congress party and its allies had won 218 seats in the 545-seat parliament, while Mr Vajpayee's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) coalition won 186, a loss of more than a third of its MPs.
Several senior BJP leaders, including ministers, lost out, hurtling the party, brimming with confidence until a few days ago, into abject confusion.
The Communists, who have promised to support the Congress party, won 63 seats, the highest ever win registered by the Left Front.
BJP MPs admitted that the result was a resounding rejection by the majority rural poor voters of Mr Vajpayee's "India shining" campaign centred around consumerism and a booming stock market.
"I am half heart-broken and half-stunned," senior BJP leader and key campaign strategist Mr Pramod Mahajan said.
"The people have given their verdict, I accept it," Mr Vajpayee said in a nationally-televised speech. "My party may have lost, but India has won.I do, however, have the satisfaction that our country is now stronger and more prosperous than when you placed the reins of office in our hand," the 89-year-old leader added before making his exit.
Mr Vajpayee is expected to retire even though he retained his seat.
Analysts say that the incoming government is likely to continue the economic reforms crucial to India becoming a global economic player.
However, the reforms might be repackaged to ensure benefits reach the poor and are not restricted, as under the BJP-led coalition, to the already affluent.