Election 2009 is Congress' best show since 1991

"People have expressed faith in us," said the man of the moment, Manmohan Singh -- basking in a spectacular victory.

The UPA has stormed back to power with enough seats to call the shots, riding on the Congress party's best performance since 1991. It's got about 200 seats on its own. It is a tally even the party did not expect.

But if 2004 was the story of Sonia Gandhi, Verdict 2009 belongs to Rahul.

He's been credited with the party's revival in Uttar Pradesh, where it did not win more than 10 seats in the last few elections.

As some partymen raised the familiar cry of 'Rahul for PM', the Prime Minister himself set the stage for his initiation into the government. "It is my wish that Rahul is in the government. I'll persuade him to join the Cabinet," he said.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi said: "It is up to the Prime Minister to decide."

But the UPA is still short of the magic number.

Apart from a few independents, the Congress is not giving up on the undisputed king of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, to shore up its numbers.

Says Nitish Kumar: "Yesterday when I spoke of a special mandate for Bihar, everyone including the Congress agreed. Now that they have won the mandate I think its time to grant special status to Bihar."

Another challenge will be who gets which ministry.Especially those who came through with flying colours, like the Trinamool and DMK. Sources say Lalu Yadav will stay on despite his poor showing, and so will some other ministers.

For the first time after 1971, the Congress has been voted back to power after serving a full term. The only difference is - this time it's a coalition government which the people of India have given a resounding yes to.