October 2004)
election results: Kicheril Raman NARAYANAN elected president; percent
of electoral college vote - NA; Krishnan KANT elected vice president;
percent of Parliament vote - NA; Atal Behari VAJPAYEE elected prime
minister; percent of vote - NA

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Sansad consists of the
Council of States or Rajya Sabha (a body consisting of not more than
250 members, up to 12 of which are appointed by the president, the
remainder are chosen by the elected members of the state and
territorial assemblies; members serve six-year terms) and the People's
Assembly or Lok Sabha (545 seats; 543 elected by popular vote, 2
appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Assembly - last held 5 September through 3 October
1999 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - BJP
alliance 40.8%, Congress alliance 33.8%, other 25.4%; seats by party -
BJP alliance 304, Congress alliance 134, other 105

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president
and remain in office until they reach the age of 65

Political parties and leaders: Akali Dal (representing Sikh religious
community in Punjab) ; All India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam or AIADMK ; All India Forward Bloc
or AIFB [Prem Dutta PALIWAL (chairman), Chitta BASU (general
secretary)]; Asom Gana Parishad ; Bahujan
Samaj Party or BSP ; Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP
; Bihar
Peoples Party ; Biju Janata Dal or BJD [Navin
PATNAIK]; Communist Party of India or CPI ; Communist
Party of India/Marxist or CPI/M ; Communist
Party of India/Marxist-Leninist or CPI/ML ; Congress (I)
Party ; Dravida Munnetra Kazagham or DMK (a
regional party in Tamil Nadu) ; Indian National League
; Janata Dal (Ajit) ; Janata Dal United
Party or JDU ; Kerala Congress
(Mani faction) ; Muslim League ; National
Conference or NC (a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir) [Farooq
ABDULLAH]; Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD ;
Revolutionary Socialist Party or RSP ; Samajwadi
Party or SP ; Samata Party or SAP
(formerly Janata Dal members) ; Shiv Sena or SHS
; Tamil Maanila Congress ; Telugu Desam
(a regional party in Andhra Pradesh) ; Trinamool
Congress

Political pressure groups and leaders: numerous religious or
militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad,
and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh; various separatist groups seeking
greater communal and/or regional autonomy