NEW DELHI Caretaker Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's coalition, led by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), launched a front with its allies on Saturday to contest upcoming elections. The alliance, which includes regional and socialist groups, would write a common manifesto, Defense Minister George Fernandes told reporters after a meeting of leaders of the coalition, which had banded together only after elections early last year.

"We have decided today that we shall call ourselves the National Democratic Alliance," Fernandes said. The minority BJP-led coalition had formed a shaky government after hastily working out a common national agenda for governance last year. It lost power in a confidence motion last month after a key regional partner walked out of the grouping. The collapse of the Hindu nationalist-led coalition means India's third general election since 1996, scheduled for September-October. Early opinion polls say the mid-term vote will likely produce another hung parliament.

(Reuter)