What does one expect from Singh during his second term? What should be the agenda for the next five years? Fortunately, the Congress is free to implement its own manifesto unlike 2004 when it was bound by a common minimum programme. The Congress can get its way in the new government despite it being a coalition.

First of all, Singh's stature has gone up this time not only within the party but also among the allies The first test begins with Cabinet formation. Singh should insist on a major say in choosing his team. Unlike 2004 when a belligerent Lalu Prasad Yadav, a bullying Shibu Soren and a demanding Ram Vilas Paswan got away with whatever portfolios they wanted, now he can afford to avoid a repeat show of that kind. Lalu and Paswan have been humbled in the poll battle. Even the DMK, which exerted pressure, has to fall in line because of the stronger position of the Congress. The two strong regional parties from U.P - the SP and the BSP- are bending over backwards to give support to the Congress because of their own political compulsions. So the first thing is to choose leaders with a clean image and good background for the ministerial team; and there are plenty of them. With Rahul Gandhi taking the centre-stage, the demand for inclusion of youth in the ministry would gain ground. Moreover, this is also the time to weed out deadwood.

Singh is in a position to assert his Prime Ministerial authority. The last five years saw Congress ministers running to 10 Janpath while the allies had their own fiefdom. Although for five years, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh divided their work and functioned without any problems, now he has to deal with the emergence of Rahul Gandhi as a new power centre. Manmohan must insist that Rahul Gandhi should join his government.

Well begun is half done. Therefore, the PM should begin his second term with the intention of completing his unfinished agenda. During the poll campaign, Singh had often talked about his unfinished agenda. He had stated that the war on poverty should be continued for the next ten years. Since the government's schemes like NREGA have done well, the new government should concentrate on more such schemes.

The second area of importance is the economy for which Dr. Singh, a renowned economist himself, does not need any advice. The way the stock market responded after the poll results shows the high expectations from Singh and his team. The top priority of the new government should be to restore the health of the economy. This is indeed a tall order in view of the enormity of the task. But the Congress cannot belie the expectations of the people who have given the party a surprisingly spectacular mandate. Other important economic measures include speeding up the reform measures which are pending in various areas like insurance, banking, retail sector and labour. There are some critics of Singh who feel that in the last five years the government did not take any bold measures in these areas because of the compulsions of coalition politics.

The third is the foreign policy. The UPA government spent the last three years in pushing through the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal. Besides taking the nuke deal to its logical end, the government has other foreign policy matters, which need attention. For instance, there is turmoil in the neighbouring countries, be it Sri Lanka, Bangladesh Nepal or Pakistan. Singh did not visit the neighbouring countries during his five years. But during his second innings, this should be rectified. Pakistan, which is drifting towards chaos, is a particular worry; so is Nepal

The government should be in a position to adopt bold foreign policy measures after building consensus among various political parties. Then there is the security agenda which was one of the major issues during the elections. The government has its hands full as it has to deal with Naxalites, insurgency in North East and infiltration and cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

Last but not least is the relationship between the government and the opposition. The new Parliament will be noisy as both the left and the BJP will sit in the opposition. Although it is a welcome sign that the BJP has made the right noises about offering constructive cooperation to the government after its humiliating defeat, one has to see how far this would be implemented. The government should reach out to the opposition and adopt a conciliatory attitude rather than an arrogant and confrontationist stance. With several parties like the SP, BSP, RJD, LJP , JD(S) and others offering support, the government is in a strong position to gets its agenda through in Parliament.

The people have spoken through the ballot. Now it is time for the government to deliver. It is a golden opportunity which should be utilised fully if the Congress wants to regain its old glory. On the other hand, if it becomes arrogant and starts believing in the TINA factor, people have their own way of showing their displeasure. (IPA Service)