A 71-year-old economic reformer and political veteran was set to become India’s next prime minister, receiving his Congress party’s endorsement today after its leader Sonia Gandhi shocked supporters by abandoning her claim to the top job.

SONIA GANDHI said she would "humbly decline" to be the next prime minister of India, a decision that followed Hindu nationalist outrage over the prospect of a foreign-born woman at the helm of the nation.

Fear of assassination has forced Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to refuse to be India’s next prime minister.