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A Failed Gambit

The President and the EC upset Rao's pre-election gameplan

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A Failed Gambit
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THE 19th of March was a particularly bad day for Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. He received two clear rebuffs from two separate constitutional authorities. The first came in the morning from President Shankar Dayal Sharma, who declined assent to the two ordinances which had been sent to him by the Government for approval. In the afternoon, the Election Commission turned down the Government's request to delay the announcement of the schedule for the 11th general elections to the Lok Sabha.

It is difficult to say which of the two snubs hurt Rao more. He had wanted the President to clear the two ordinances—the first sought reservation in government jobs for Dalit Christians, a move aimed at boosting the Congress' proDalit image, and the second aimed at shortening the campaign period for the elections from the customary three weeks to a mere fortnight. The calculation was that this would hit a cash-strapped Opposition hard, and provide an edge to the Prime Minister and his party's campaign with the Indian Air Force aircraft at their disposal. But the President, aware of the constitutional impropriety of promulgating such ordinances on the eve of elections, refused to play ball.

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The delay in the announcement of the poll schedule had been ostensibly sought because of the developments in Kashmir. Home Secretary K. Padmanabhaiah was especially sent to the Election Commission to plead the Government's case. The argument was that with Special Secretary V.K. Jain leading a team to Jammu and Kashmir to carry on a dialogue with some former militants, the announcement of the polls could vitiate the atmosphere. There were hints that the Government wanted to hold assembly elections in the strife-torn state straight away and suggestions that the Election Commission wait till the end of the week before announcing the election schedule. But the gambit failed. Even as Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan remained neutral, the two other Commissioners, M.S. Gill and G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, held that the announcement of elections could not be put off any longer.

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THE Commission unilaterally announced that the Lok Sabha elections (also assembly polls where they were due) would be held in three phases on April 27, May 2 and May 7. Elections to the Lok Sabha from Jammu and Kashmir would be held on May 21, well after the end of the election process in the rest of the country.

How keen the Government was to hold assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will remain a matter of conjecture. Too often, grandiose plans to hold elections in the state have been announced—only to be jettisoned. But the unilateral announcement of the dates by the Election Commission was to hit Rao visibly the very next day. The model code of conduct came into effect with the announcement of the poll dates, and the Prime Minister had to hastily cancel the scheduled laying of the foundation stone of the Rs 7,000-crore oil refinery project at Kathaura in Amethi the next day. The grand launch of the party's campaign in Rajiv Gandhi's famed constituency was rendered a near damp squib.

But what was also interesting about the week was the conduct of the three election commissioners themselves. Although Seshan, Gill and Krishnamurthy exhibited great bonhomie and tried to project a united front when they addressed the press on March 19, it was clear that all was not too well. Only a couple of days ago, Krishnamurthy had taken great umbrage at the fact that Seshan had had a private meeting with Rao. A clandestine meeting, it was felt, could compromise the Commission's independent image and that if such meetings were necessary, all the three commissioners should have been present. Says Krishnamurthy: "The Prime Minister is not only the Prime Minister of the country, but also the president of the ruling party which is going to contest the elections and has a major stake in regard to the timings and the schedule.''

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 The same day, the three commissioners turned down a luncheon meeting with the Prime Minister: Seshan on the ground that he was going out of town, and Gill and Krishnamurthy saying they had received no invitation. According to one source in the PMO, the luncheon meeting was aimed at 'discussing' the dates as the general consensus is that Rao was interested in delaying the polls as much as possible.

Only a few days ago, the election commissioners had delivered the first split order in the Congress symbol case, with Seshan holding that the 'hand symbol' of the Congress be frozen while the other two commissioners ruled that the party could keep its symbol. This was the first time a majority vote had been employed to decide an issue since the Supreme Court verdict—a landmark judgement that validated a majority decision in the absence of a consensus.

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At the press conference, Seshan talked of the 'unanimous resolve' of the Commission to hold the 'most perfect election till date'. But that could just be a front. As the election race hots up, the divergent currents coursing through the Commission may surface again.

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