New Delhi, May 18: The diplomatic corps in India is watching the political developments surrounding the Congress with keen interest after Sonia Gandhi’s refusal to accept the prime ministership.

Foreign embassies and missions in Delhi, after predicting a victory for Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s National Democratic Alliance in the Lok Sabha elections, have decided to hold their comment till a clearer picture emerges.

“At the beginning, we thought it is all part of a drama and Sonia Gandhi was doing this to consolidate her position,” a South Asian diplomat said with reference to her refusal to be the Prime Minister.

“Malaysian leader Mahathir did it a couple of times in the past few years and so have others to garner support from their supporters and make their own positions unassailable,” he added.

The diplomat admitted that the “political suspense” had forced him and many others in the diplomatic corps to adopt a policy of wait-and-watch. “It will be foolish on our part to jump the gun and make comments on something for which we may have to regret later.”

The Americans have reason to worry as the Left parties, with their 63 MPs and outside support to the government, will play a crucial role in shaping future policies — particularly in the economic sphere and those relating to Indo-US ties. They have decided not to comment till the political dust settles down.

“India has got a great democracy and we are watching with keen interest for the process to play out its natural course,” a US diplomat said. He stressed that the US, like many other countries, was impressed by the strong, democratic roots and transparency with which the political developments were being conducted and covered by the media.

“We are confident of India’s strength and stand ready to work with whoever leads the new government,” the official said.

The global media, which had played up the possibility of an Italian-born becoming the Prime Minister of India after the Congress-led alliance emerged victorious in the polls, has also been stressing on the opposition to Sonia from the BJP.

Though it has not been said in so many words, the possible name of Manmohan Singh as the new candidate for Prime Ministership and the positive impact of the move on the Indian stock markets have also been highlighted. According to a section of the western media, Sonia would perhaps have made more adjustments with the Left parties on economic reforms if she became Prime Minister than Manmohan.