As exit polls had indicated, PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance won a comfortable majority in India's parliamentary elections.

CNN: ASIANOW - Asiaweek | Daily Briefing: New Stability in India?

Three Indian ministers had the courage to resign from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government in protest against a steep hike in the prices of petroleum products which has hit the poorer sections of society very badly.

CNN: Letters

Even at the height of its popularity in 1999, under former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the party managed to scrabble together only 182 seats 90 short of a simple majority and garnered just about a quarter of the national vote.

WSJ: Sadanand Dhume: Don't Bet on India to Elect the Thatcherite

Business Recorder feels Mr Sharif "is rightly in place to reconstruct bilateralism with India" and The Express Tribune feels "he will have to promote his pro-peace policies which resulted in (ex-Indian PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee's historic visit to Lahore".

BBC: Press highlight Pakistan challenges