Opposition hopes of early Indian poll in doubt

By a Special Correspondent

The possibility of an early general election in India appears to have been ruled out, dashing the hopes of Opposition parties, following statements by the Indian Prime Minister and the leader of the Congress Party at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi yesterday.

Answering questions from the audience on the possibility of an early election due to differences with the left parties in the ruling UPA coalition on the Nuclear Agreement with the USA, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the UPA was not a “one issue government”. The questions were asked after his inaugural address at the Leadership Summit.

Asked how he looked at the possibility of an election Dr. Manmohan Singh said it was far away, with one and a half years left to complete the government’s term.

He remained optimistic about the talks with the left parties over the 123 Nuclear Agreement with the USA, and discounted possibilities of this issue leading to a fall of the government.

The Indian Prime Minister said there was an unfinished agenda for the Government, with important proposals in the manifesto of the UPA which required implementing in the balance period of the government. These included policies on agriculture, improvement of the rural economy, and education. Congress leader Smt. Sonia Gandhi who participated in a special discussion at the Leadership Summit was clear in her statement that the UPA Government serve were till the end of its term, and stressed that the survival of the UPA government precedes the Nuclear Deal.

She also said her recent comments critical of those who opposed the Government were not directed at the UPA left allies, but was with regard to the situation in that State.

Leaders of the left parties in the ruling coalition welcomed what appeared to be a change of attitude of the Congress Party, which is the largest party in the ruling coalition in India.

There has been considerable speculation that the differences between the Congress leadership and the Left parties over the Nuclear Deal with the USA would lead to the fall of the government and an early election.

Political observers in New Delhi said it was significant that both the Prime Minister and the Congress leader had chosen the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit to announce what is seen as a conciliatory policy towards the left parties, and present such an important position in current Indian politics.

Many attributed this to the important audience at the Summit and the wide media coverage it receives.

In what analysts saw as a swipe at the left parties for their stance of the Nuclear Deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: “No static ideology can freeze or strait-jacket the creativity, the enterprise and the imagination of our people”. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is due to address the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit today.