India, the world’s largest democracy, is to hold its next general elections in April-May, five years after the 2004 Lok Sabha battle dramatically brought the Congress to power. Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said in London that the staggered polls would start April 8 or 10 and end May 18. The declaration was promptly hailed by India’s mainstream political parties.

Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi (pictured), is expected to take centre stage during the election campaign. — PHOTO:REUTERS

(Full Election Commission to review Phase-III polling on April 10. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami will review the poll preparation for the Phase-III polling in Uttar Pradesh at Bareilly on April 10)

Addressing British academics and politicians after a lecture on the December Jammu and Kashmir elections, Quraishi said the date of May 18 was linked to the Sikkim assembly polls. “It’s an open and shut case. In March (general) elections are not possible” because of nationwide school examinations, he said. Most polling centres are located in school buildings.

“Beyond May we cannot go. So that leaves us with only April-May,” he went on. “Parliament has got (life) till May 30 but since there are three other states that are going to polls – Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim – it will be a close tie.” The Sikkim elections, due by May 22, was the chief factor in deciding the cut off date. “We cannot have general elections in Sikkim May 15 or 20 and ask the Sikkimese to come for state elections earlier. Therefore May 22 is our due date. “Working backwards … we may start on the 8th or 10th of April and finish on the 15th-18th of May,” said Quraishi, who was on his way to India from Stockholm, where he attended a meeting at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).

Poll strategy

Although the Election Commission is yet to make an official announcement about the general elections, political parties in India said they were all set for the gigantic battle that will involve over 670 million voters – more than the combined population of Russia and the US. “We are ready to go to the electorate,” Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmad said. He said the process of selection of candidates was already on. The Congress Working Committee will meet on January 29.

A meeting of the chief ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states will be held here today to take stock of the party’s preparedness for the Lok Sabha elections.

“The focus of the party is on winning as many seats as possible in the states ruled by it,” BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar told reporters here yesterday.

The meeting, to be held at senior leader L K Advani’s residence, would review the poll preparations with this aim, he said. The BJP rules Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

“Deputy chief ministers of the party in states governed by the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) partners have also been called,” the BJP leader said – referring to Sushil Modi, deputy chief ministerof Bihar, ruled by Janata Dal-United (JD-U). There will be two rounds of meetings of the party’s central election committee Thursday to discuss names of candidates.

Party yesterday released a list of 16 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, naming a total of 48 contestants so far in the four lists announced.

The names were finalised at a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee held at the party headquarters under the chairmanship of its president Rajnath Singh. The list has 12 candidates from Uttar Pradesh, three from Kerala and one from the union territory of Diu and Daman. It includes three sitting MPs and three women.

A Bhojpuri folk singer, Tripti Shakya, will be fielded from the Mainpuri constituency in Uttar Pradesh. The list has five candidates for seats reserved for Scheduled Castes.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said it would comment only after an official announcement from the Election Commission. Quraishi’s comments are expected to speed up the process of alignment and realignment among Indian political parties as they firm up old alliances and look for new ones. Most political analysts expect 2009 to produce another hung Lok Sabha.

Meanwhile, Congress president Sonia Gandhi visited several Dalit families and ate with one of them in her parliamentary constituency Amethi here yesterday, the second and last day of her Uttar Pradesh visit. To have the first hand experience of problems and challenges faced by the Dalits, Gandhi visited their huts in various villages in Rae Bareli, a Congress leader said.

“During her interaction with Dalits, Soniaji had food provided by a Dalit family in Rohania village in Rae Bareli,” the leader said “She had some flattened rice (chivda).” The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson sought suggestions from Dalit families on some developmental projects.

Gandhi also made surprise inspection at the Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital in Amethi and urged the hospital’s doctors to work sincerely for the poor and the needy, party officials said. Earlier in the day, Gandhi distributed blankets to the poor and held jansabha (public meet) to know their problems. Gandhi left for the national capital around 5.45 p.m.

The Congress president, who was on a two-day visit to Rae Bareli, cancelled all public functions following the death of former president R Venkataraman on Tuesday.“Soniaji called off the inaugural function of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER),” Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said.

He said Gandhi also cancelled the inauguration of a hostel building at the Feroze Gandhi Engineering and a BSNL customer care centre.

Gandhi arrived in Rae Bareli Tuesday and launched the country’s third rail coach factory here, built at a cost of Rs.20 billion ($408 million), promising jobs to at least 8,000 people.

Source ::: IANS