Indian bookies favor government to keep power

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian bookmakers believe the coalition government will hold on to power in Tuesday's tightly contested confidence vote in parliament, Indian newspapers reported.

They are offering a return of only 50 rupees on a 100 rupee stake on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government surviving, the Times of India said. Defeat brings a profit of 175 rupees 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.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Alistair Scrutton)