Reuters
Mumbai: Indian bookmakers believe that the coalition government will hold on to power in 22 July’s tightly contested confidence vote in parliament, Indian newspapers reported.
They are offering a return of only Ra50 on a Rs100 stake on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government surviving, the Times of India said. Defeat brings a profit of Rs175 on the same stake.
Other newspapers gave similar odds, but none named its sources because the activity is illegal in India.
Betting is a thriving underground industry, with hundreds of millions of rupees wagered, mostly on cricket matches and sometimes on other sporting events or news developments.
Newspaper and television tallies see gives Singh’s government an edge of between two and four votes over the opposition in parliament, but said several MPs remained undecided.