India's Gandhi wins party crown

The leader of the opposition Congress party in India, Sonia Gandhi, has been re-elected by a comfortable majority.

Election officials say more than seven thousand party delegates voted for Mrs Gandhi against less than one hundred for her sole challenger, Jitendra Prasada.

Afterwards Mrs Gandhi called on the party to unite.

Correspondents say many Congress Party members had been fearful that if Mr Prasada had won a respectable share of the vote, it could have damaged Mrs Gandhi's authority.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service