Delhi Correspondent Daniel Lak reports on the uproar in parliament

Opposition members started shouting for the resignation of the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, as soon as the session officially began.

They surrounded the speaker chanting "Vajpayee resign!" and refused to return to their seats when asked.

The speaker, who tried several times to calm things down, eventually adjourned the session until Tuesday.

The opposition Congress Party did not take part in the disruption and its members kept a low profile.

They watched the proceedings, smiling and congratulating each other on their election success.

Members of the government, including the prime minister, looked on glumly.

The upper house of parliament was quieter, but there was still criticism of the government's economic performance.

Congress bides its time

Sonia Gandhi: waiting in the wings

The Hindu nationalist BJP, the major partner in the federal coalition, lost Rajasthan and Delhi to Congress. And Congress also defied predictions by holding on to Madhya Pradesh, although it did lose in the north-eastern state of Mizoram.

Ambika Soni, spokesperson for the Congress Party, told the BBC that the party would not go in for an "immediate kill."

"We are going to consolidate these gains, and we are going to wait to see how the allies of the BJP-led coalition behave," she said.

Congress Party's Ambika Soni: "Not going for an immediate kill"

The BBC Delhi correspondent, Daniel Lak, says the Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi, is not expected to make a bid for power any time soon.

However, he says the country could face another general election next year unless the government manages to produce an economic miracle.

BJP absorbs lessons

Indian newspapers have universally described the outcome of the state vote as a vote against the federal government.

Vijay Dutt of the Hindustan Times says the BJP won't step down

"Few parties in any democracy frittered away such a fund of public goodwill in so fast a time as the BJP did in the past eight months," The Hindustan Times said.

However, a BJP spokesman, Krishan Lal Sharma, said there was no question of the current administration stepping down.

"Neither the Congress nor the others are in a position to provide a viable alternative government," he said.

However, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told parliamentarians from his coalition that the opposition had succeeded in making the economy a major election issue, and said the government will take steps to bring down prices of vegetables and other foods.