UP: The Morning After

It is understandable that the Prime Minister should be anxious to end President’s rule in UP before the commencement of the winter session of Parliament. The move to impeach the President with the necessary two-thirds majority need not be taken seriously, but the vote on ratification of President’s rule might well turn out to be uncomfortably close. CPI(M) has indicated that it will vote against the Government as will perhaps sections of SSP and PSP. At the same time, the decision to revoke President’s rule will not be an easy one for the Prime Minister to take. To hand over UP to a Samyuktha Vidhayak Dal government would be to make nonsense of the imposition of President’s rule by strong-arm methods for which she has already been so bitterly criticised. And as matters stand at the time of going to press, it appears that it would be difficult to keep an SVD government out of office except by prolonging President’s rule.