All leads converge on early elections


Like multiple war-heads zooming past all odds to hit a single target, the UPA Government has been announcing measures and working for the happenstance of early elections. Chidambaram’s farmer-friendly budget proposals, Congress Party’s insistence on going ahead with the nuclear deal with the US Government, the coming pay commission recommendations for Central Government employees, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s railway budget with no increase in passenger fares and freight charges all drive the point home that elections are round the corner.

Immediately after Chidambaram presented his budget, the BJP, CPI, CPM and others from the left and right dispensations sensed the Sword of Damocles of an election hanging over everyone’s head. It seems everyone wanted completion of the normal term, but circumstances have slipped beyond the control of the Congress Party, particularly on account of the insistence of the Bush Administration to complete the nuclear agreement soon.

The normal tenure of Dr Manmohan Singh’s Government would end in May 2009. He assumed charge as Prime Minister on May 22, 2004 after Sonia Gandhi sacrificed the people’s mandate she got for the post.

Congress sees many plus points to hold the elections a little prematurely. Reports indicate that BJP’s band of overseas supporters, particularly in the US, are not happy with the party opposing the India-America nuclear deal. The Left’s intransigence on the nuclear deal could be transformed into an advantage for the Congress, if the assessment of its leaders are reckoned. Ultimately, where the leads are poised to can be only a distant guess.

No one can possibly oppose the largesse conferred on the farming fraternity, particularly the Rs 60,000-crore loan-waiver. It is no permanent solution. But even a temporary relief cannot be opposed.

Regarding the nuclear deal, Richard Boucher has clarified that the Hyde Act is incumbent upon the US and may go hand in hand with the 123 agreement. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had made it clear that 123 agreement was what binds India and the US regarding the deal. The left’s objection is to India gravitating towards the US in strategic military relations.

India is going ahead with finalisation of an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. It seems there is no reneging on the deal. The left will have to withdraw support as it has no choice. And lo, the country is on its way to an advanced election….OJ