INDIA November, Be Kind

Notes INDIA November, Be Kind

What better month for an Indian politician to seek re-election than November? The harvest and festival seasons have just ended, leaving voters in an ebullient mood, and the weather is tolerable. No wonder, then, that Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi last week scheduled national elections for Parliament's lower house late next month, seven weeks earlier than necessary.

But Gandhi's decision also came after the opposition defeated two government programs aimed at giving increased decision making and funding to local governments. Gandhi evidently reasoned that rejection of the popular measures provided him with a campaign issue that will overshadow a financial scandal that...

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