Leaders of India's ruling coalition affirmed their faith in Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee today - a day after he offered to resign - and said there was no one better to lead the country.
"Everyone expressed confidence in the prime minister's leadership and said at this point of time there could be no better leader," Communications Minister Mr Ram Vilas Paswan told reporters after a meeting of the National Democratic Alliance.
"How can he not agree?" Mr Paswan replied, when asked if the 74-year-old premier had agreed to stay on.
Mr Vajpayee offered to resign yesterday, apparently tired of persistent sniping over his management of the 21-month-old rickety coalition that has reeled from crisis to crisis.
Officials in Mr Vajpayee's Bharatiya Janata Party, which leads the coalition, said their leader had been persuaded to stay on and that he had agreed.