Date:13/08/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/08/13/stories/2003081304141100.htm

National

No early poll: Vajpayee

By Harish Khare

New Delhi Aug. 12. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, is believed to have told his Cabinet colleagues that there would be no early Lok Sabha elections, certainly not in November 2003.

Mr. Vajpayee's obiter dictum came on Monday when the Union Cabinet was discussing reservation for the economically backward classes among the forward castes. The Cabinet had already cleared the Delhi "Statehood" proposal as well as the Bill to ban cow slaughter, both proposals driven by electoral considerations.

When the "'reservation" proposal was propped up, it prompted the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, to think aloud that the proposal would give credence to the rumours that the current session (13th session of the 13th Lok Sabha) would be the last session (before it gets presumably dissolved).

Ms. Swaraj was immediately contradicted by the Prime Minister who observed that there would be "no (early) elections" and, if necessary, he would clarify the matter.

Ms. Swaraj's observation only confirmed the uncertainty among even the senior Ministers on the Lok Sabha time-table. Curiously enough, only a day earlier, the Prime Minister had hinted at an election rally that the elections would take place as per the normal schedule. Still, Ms. Swaraj had to think aloud.

But she had her reasons. The "reservation" proposal had indeed hastily been brought before the Cabinet. Even the customary "Cabinet note" could not be circulated to all the Ministers, and the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Satyanarayan Jatia's own hurriedly written note was deemed to have been circulated to the Cabinet.

Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, Ministers, were believed to have opposed the idea of reservation for the poor among the upper castes, but the Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, settled the matter by saying that since the Prime Minister had already announced the Government's willingness (the previous day at an election rally in Jaipur), the suggestion had to be taken up.

It was the political calculations and arguments openly made that made Ms. Swaraj draw attention to the "election talk". Unwittingly, got a response from Mr. Vajpayee, setting at rest all talk of a November Lok Sabha poll.