NEW DELHI, May 19: Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam named former finance minister Manmohan Singh as the nation's 13th prime minister and indications are that the mild-mannered Sikh leader would be formally sworn-in on Saturday along with a few cabinet colleagues.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, at a closed-door meeting of the Congress parliamentary party, proposed Dr Singh's name and later forwarded the choice to coalition partners and eventually to President Kalam, with all the required letters of support.

"The future of the country is safe in Dr Manmohan Singh's hands," a beaming Ms Gandhi told reporters after meeting President Kalam. Dr Singh said he was humbled by the fact that the verdict was for Ms Gandhi to become prime minister and she had handed it to him.

The choice left many Congress workers distraught, with scores of them spending their second consecutive night on an indefinite hunger strike aimed at forcing Ms Gandhi to change her mind. She gave them good advice but no joy.

"When I spoke to the Congress parliamentary party yesterday, I expected that there would be some disappointment and some sadness. But I have been totally overwhelmed by the outpouring of emotion from nearly every corner of our country. And I have been humbled by the love and affection that has been so spontaneously expressed," she said in a statement to her followers.

"To all of you who are upset or disappointed, I have this to say: I am not going anywhere. I am still very much in politics. I will continue as Congress president and chairperson, Congress Party in parliament for as long as you want me to. I am one of you. And nothing will ever change that," Ms Gandhi said.

She recalled again that her family, including former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, had treated politics with a sense of duty. "My family has always treated politics as part of a crusade to create a better India.

Indiraji and Rajivji made the supreme sacrifice for our nation. There examples inspired us all and speaking for myself, I know that I derive my strength from their courage.

No matter how much adversity I have faced, it is nothing compared to what they had to go through. Today, it is their strength and their inspiration that guide me and the Congress party."

Ms Gandhi was evidently concerned at the persistent call to her not to give up the prime minister's option. Hundreds of activists held endless demonstrations in the baking heat.

"I understand your disappointment. But I appeal to you to understand the depth of my sentiment, when I say that I cannot reverse my decision. Let us show the world that for the Congress party, politics is about values and integrity," she said.

"As I said, I am overwhelmed by your love. But now, we must get on with the serious business of undoing the damage done by the last government and of working to create the India of our dreams.

"I urge you to support the Congress prime minister. And I request you to give your full support to the new cabinet. The Congress party is overflowing with talent. Let us give India the government it deserves.

"Speaking for myself. I will always be here, working for the party. The Congress is my life. All of you are my family. Let us now build the 21st century India that was Rajivji's vision."

Dr Singh will be the first non-Hindu prime minister of India and celebrations were under way across the country, wherever the nation's two per cent hardy Sikhs live, including Delhi.

His election expectedly restored sanity in the stock market and he got endorsement from the business clubs. "Dr Manmohan Singh is a fine administrator. He has a good combination of heart and mind," said Adi Godrej, a well-regarded industrialist.

The 71-year old Dr Singh faced the media with Ms Gandhi by his side at the forecourt of the British-built Presidential Palace. "Ms Sonia Gandhi and I have met the president yesterday and we had promised him that we would be coming back today with necessary documents of support," Dr Singh said.

"Those supporting documents were made available to the Honourable President this evening and I am happy to inform that the president has invited me to form the next government."

Friday, May 21, is Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary and not likely to be the occasion for swearing in of a government. As the news spread, hundreds of Congress supporters, including Sikhs, danced and distributed sweets as celebrations erupted outside the residence of Dr Singh.

They shouted slogans like 'Manmohan Singh Zindabad' and 'Jo Bole Sao Nihal, Saath Sri Akal'. His elevation is expected to have an impact on a community that felt betrayed by the Congress when hundreds of Sikhs were slaughtered in Delhi and other cities in 1984 by angry Hindu mobs avenging the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.

Dr Manmohan Singh was born to Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur in Gah, now in Pakistan's Punjab, on Sept 26, 1932. He married Gursharan Kaur on Sept 14, 1958. They have three daughters.

A professional economist, Dr Singh did his MA in economics, followed by a DPhil from Oxford University. He had his education at the universities of Punjab, Cambridge and Oxford.

From 1972 to 1976 he was chief economic adviser in the Indian finance ministry. In 1976, he was named director of the Reserve Bank of India and the Industrial Development Bank of India. In September 1982 he was named RBI governor and continued in that post till January 1985.

A day after he retired as RBI governor, Dr Singh was named deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. He remained deputy chairman till July 1987. He was economic adviser to Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar from December 10, 1990, to March 14, 1991. He then became finance minister under P.V. Narasimha Rao's Congress government in 1991, which lasted until 1996.