Manmohan Singh had staked the survival of UPA-I to pursue his dream of a breakthrough in relations with the US; he is pursuing a breakthrough in relations with Pakistan in UPA-II though he knows fully well that all odds are against him. He's lonely, but he knows that's how it's meant to be at the top. Singh considered the 2009 victory equally his, as it was Sonia Gandhi's. But it is also proving to be his big challenge.

Unlike UPA-I, when expectations from the patchy alliance were low and every step forward won him a loud round of applause, the Congress-led coalition's return to Raisina Hill had set expectations a trifle too high. It doesn't help that Singh is shackled by compulsions arising out coalition with smaller parties and divergent opinions within the Congress.

Just 4.4 per cent of the respondents saw this as a strength - though it was far from his biggest weakness either. While coalition pressures in UPA-I followed a predictable pattern, in UPA-II it's whimsical, primarily due to one person - Mamata Banerjee.

The PM may apply his sense of propriety on Shashi Tharoor, but Mamata and A. Raja of DMK are beyond prime ministerial authority. As many as 31 per cent of respondents say the PM's inability to deal with tainted ministers is his biggest weakness - but then that's been seen as a necessary evil in coalitions.