India's Congress party may not ask for left support

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's ruling Congress party may not turn to its former leftist allies to form a government if the Congress-led coalition wins enough parliament seats in the general election, the federal trade minister said on Saturday.

A government without the left, which seems to have fared badly in its stronghold in West Bengal state, would be a boost to investors hoping for economic reforms in Congress' second term.

"There is no compulsion for us to add a whole band of allies," Trade Minister Kamal Nath told Times Now TV channel, when asked whether Congress would ask the left for support.

"If we don't need the numbers, we don't need the numbers."

The Congress-led alliance appears to be heading for a second term after a clear victory in the general election, though it still looks short of a majority and will have to rely on the help of smaller parties to stay in power.

Economic reforms stalled when the Congress government was propped up by the left until last year, when the communists quit the alliance angry at a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

The communists were trailing in the election including in the bastion state of West Bengal which they have ruled for more than three decades, early projections said.

(Reporting by Matthias Williams; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)