NEW DELHI - India's embattled prime minister on Sunday tried to patch things up with a key ally that said it would quit his cabinet, aiming to avert another crisis for a government shaken by a raft of corruption scandals.

The southern Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) party, which gave the Congress party-led coalition a slim majority in parliament, said on Saturday it was pulling out its ministers because of a dispute over seats to be contested in state assembly elections next month.

Analysts, however, said the move was more likely linked to a massive telecom graft scandal that has implicated the DMK and which has called into question Singh's ability to govern Asia's third-largest economy.