The Election Commission’s announcement this evening of a seven-phase poll in Uttar Pradesh beginning April 7 provided the Congress party and the UPA government with an honourable exit route from Operation Topple Mulayam which had become increasingly intractable after the CPM made it clear that any such move would lead to a “political breach” between the UPA and the Left.

For the record, AICC spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan — echoing the statements made by a plethora of party leaders over the last week — reiterated the Congress position that “it is time for the Mulayam Singh government to go” and called upon the government to take “all steps” in that direction.

But within hours of the EC’s announcement later in the evening, top Congress leaders had changed their tune, downplaying the imposition of President’s Rule saying they would now “plunge into the heat and dust of elections” just six weeks away. “Why? Now the elections are announced,” a CWC member shot back when asked if the party was moving ahead with the dismissal.

Constitutionally, there is no bar on dismissal, said AICC media department chairperson Janardan Dwivedi, and it was for the Centre to take a decision in the “changed situation.” But he quickly added: “The Election Commission’s responsibility to ensure a free and fair election has increased in view of the announcement.”

While the EC’s announcement may have provided the party with the pretext to climb down, Congress leaders privately concede that the turning point came after the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and CPM general secretary Prakash Karat yesterday. Karat made it clear that the Left’s opposition to President’s Rule before the February 26 floor-test was not a case of public posturing but would have serious repercussions on UPA-Left relations for the rest of the government’s term.

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