WORLD : Singh Appointed to Succeed Gandhi as India Prime Minister

Vishwanath Pratap Singh today was appointed India’s new prime minister to succeed Rajiv Gandhi, his one-time ally whose party was defeated in bitter national elections last month.

President Ramaswami Venkataraman named Singh prime minister an hour after Singh was unanimously elected parliamentary leader of his centrist coalition.

The United News of India news agency said Singh would be sworn in by Venkataraman on Saturday and given 30 days to prove his coalition has the support of a majority in Parliament.

Singh, 58, also was chosen leader of the Janata Dal, the major component of the five-party coalition. It holds 141 of the National Front’s 144 seats in Parliament. The other three seats are held by smaller parties in the coalition.

The front formed the most cohesive opposition force in India’s 42 years of independence to defeat Gandhi in national elections held Nov. 22-26. Gandhi, whose Congress-I Party had held power for nearly all of India’s independence, lost his bid to remain prime minister when his party failed to win a parliamentary majority.