Congress uneasy about polls under CEC

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi

Aug. 16: The Congress is uncomfortable with Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami ahead of the general elections.

Though the party is reluctant to raise its voice against him in public at this juncture as he holds a constitutional post, it did not like the Election Commission’s decisions with regard to the Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh elections a few months ago.

Mr Gopalaswami retires in April 2009. It means he would retire in the middle of the general elections if they are held as per schedule. He will not only schedule the polling dates but will have full control over the election process in the coming months.

That is why Congress managers are uneasy.

The Congress managers had earlier miscalculated the poll schedule in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh and thus lost the electoral battle against the BJP.

Former chief minister Veer Bhadra Singh was blaming the EC for "advancing" the Himachal polls while senior party officials were confident that he would delay the Karnataka elections by a few months due to delimitation.

They thought the Karnataka polls would be held under the delimited constituencies, which, they claimed privately, was the understanding between the EC and the government.

But Mr Gopalaswami’s continuance will be an additional factor causing concern to party managers.

In that situation the Manmohan Singh government will not like to advance polls.

A section of the party feels the government may not call a Winter Session of Parliament due to the fluid political situation, and go for polls after the Monsoon Session expected in the second week of September.

But it is not only the Congress.

Even the Marxists have been uncomfortable with Mr Gopalaswami and had earlier charged him with having a "class prejudice".