NEW DELHI, 29 January 2004 — India’s election machinery kicked into gear yesterday, a day after the Cabinet recommended the dissolution of Parliament next week in preparation for early national elections.
Amid a frantic round of deal-making, the Hindu nationalist BJP announced it had clinched an alliance with the regional AIADMK led by the flamboyant ex-actress J. Jayalalitha in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
The alliance will help give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a crucial foothold in southern India where its presence up to now has been negligible.
The announcement came after the main opposition Congress party announced earlier this month a tie-up with AIADMK’s rival in Tamil Nadu, the DMK.
On Tuesday, the Cabinet recommended dissolution of Parliament on Feb. 6, paving the way for national polls in March or April, at least six months ahead of schedule.
The BJP has been keen to cash in on a “feel-good” mood in the country on the back of a surging economy and peace moves with longtime foe Pakistan, as well as to capitalize on disarray in the opposition Congress, which has not held office since 1996.
Senior BJP leader J.P. Mathur said the party would formally launch its campaign on Feb. 6 after electing national office bearers.
With elections looming on the horizon, Congress, trounced in three state elections in India’s Hindi-speaking heartland in December that were seen as a dry run for the national polls, was huddled in strategy sessions yesterday.
The biggest and brightest names in Indian advertising were working overtime for Congress to spin a campaign around a 500 million rupee ($11 million) slogan — “the fail-good factor”, a media report said.
The Congress was planning the multi-million dollar ad campaign to try to prick holes in the ruling coalition’s “India Shining” media blitz highlighting the country’s economic performance.
India’s economy is expected to grow by more than seven percent this year following the strongest monsoon in years.
