In different orbits

He also took the unusual step of visiting Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the occasion of Holi to convey his greetings and present copies of his autobiography to them. Earlier, he had been bemoaning the absence of personal communication

with Gandhi and its adverse impact on his relationship with the prime minister. In his ‘Walk the Talk’ interaction (IE, March 24), he also signalled that it was possible for his party to consider the acceptability of the 123 Agreement with the United States if the Indian Atomic Energy Act were to be amended to shield this country from the provisions of the Hyde Act. In the interviews, in the wake of the release of his autobiography, Advani has projected himself as a strategist who persuaded Prime Minister Vajpayee to invite

Pervez Musharraf for the Agra summit and as a strong leader, who did not hesitate to condemn US ambiguity on Pakistani terrorism during the hijack of IC-814 to Kandahar.

the efforts by the US Federal Reserve, the US Congress and the European central banks, the world economy is likely to be in a worse condition than it is in this year. The central banks and governments can only limit the damage, not totally avoid it. Despite all the brave talk in India, this country cannot scape the global trend. The Indian economy is bound to be in a less favourable situation than it is in now.

In such circumstances, the incumbency factor will favour the opposition and adversely affect the ruling party in an election. The loan waiver for farmers, tax reduction for the middle classes and pay commission recommended hikes in salaries for Government servants will all be distant memories — evelopments taken for granted by the voters. The fall in rowth rates and possible Inflation continuing into the next year are issues that will agitate the electorate.

Therefore, it is in the interest of the NDA to allow this government to last its full term. Advani has also signalled that under certain conditions — which are...