December 4, 2003	Thursday	Shawwal 9, 1424

NEW DELHI, Dec 3: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday instructed MPs of his ruling BJP to prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for next year.

“Even though the parliament elections are still a year away, all of you should highlight the achievements of the government and this task should be undertaken immediately after end of the current (parliament) session,” Mr Vajpayee said at a meeting of party MPs, according to BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

The election is due by October next year, but there has been speculation that the government could bring it forward to February.

The speculation has gained momentum since elections in four Indian states on Monday, with exit polls predicting the BJP was likely to win two or three of the four, which are all currently governed by the Congress. The results will be announced on Thursday.

Some analysts believe a good showing by the party in the state polls could tempt it to call an early national election to cash in on the gains and positive sentiment following good monsoon rains.

The current session of parliament ends on Dec 23. —AFP