NEW DELHI, May 17, SPA -- India's Congress party was in talks Sunday to finalize a coalition government, a day after itsresounding victory in month long national elections. Congress officials were meeting with leaders of smallerparties, officials said, to nudge its coalition over thehalfway mark in Parliament. The Congress-led coalition won 260 seats in India's543-seat Parliament, requiring just 12 more spots. TheCongress, which on its own took 201 seats in Parliament,won one of the most crushing electoral victories by anindividual party in nearly two decades, Associated Press reported. Party officials said Sunday that it was likely Congresswould prefer to ally itself with numerous small parties andindependents _ a move that would spare them from giving toomany concessions or Cabinet posts to a larger party. «We are very close to the magic figure of 272,» RajivShukla, a party leader told the NDTV news channel. «So wewon't require large parties.» No final decisions would be taken, however, until Congress leadership meets in the next few days, he said. On Saturday, when votes were finally counted from anelection that began in mid-April and stretched across fivephases, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared victorysaying voters had given his party a «massive mandate.»--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/665112