World | India
Parliamentary polls likely in February
The federal government is likely to opt for the next general elections in February next year.
- By Ajay Jha, Chief Correspondent
- Published: 23:43 October 29, 2008
New Delhi: The federal government is likely to opt for the next general elections in February next year.
According to indications available, the Congress party will start the process of consulting all its allies in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) next month and ask the government to pass a resolution urging the Election Commission to hold polls in February, two months ahead of schedule. The cabinet may meet for the purpose in early December.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asserted recently that the next general elections would be held on schedule. However, the Congress think-tank believes delaying polls would harm their prospects since the common man would start feeling the impact of the global economic meltdown in a few months.
"Prices of essential commodities have started falling after a good monsoon and inflation, which is hovering around 11 per cent is likely decline further and stabilise around 10 per cent. This, we feel, is the right time to go to voters than stick to power for a couple of more months," said a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).
Snag
The government may avoid a technical snag of getting the vote-on-account passed by Parliament by merely recommending early polls instead of dissolving the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, which is slated to meet from December 8, the day results of five assembly elections are announced.
Passing a vote-on-account is essential for February elections since the government cannot present a regular budget at the end of February after elections are announced. While the majority of the UPA constituents and the Samajwadi Party are in favour of early polls, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP)and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have reservations.
While RLD and LJP, headed by federal ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan, are worried about consolidation of voters by chief minister Nitish Kumar in their home state Bihar, DMK finds itself caught in a fix over ethnic strife in the neighbouring Sri Lanka.
"We would explain the overall benefits of early polls and take them into confidence before making any formal announcement," said the CWC member.
A cabinet resolution recommending early polls in early December would give the Election Commission about two months to conduct polls in February.
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