NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Citing peace talks with Pakistan and his handling of the Kashmir issue as major successes of his third incomplete tenure, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee kicked off a re-election campaign on Friday to seek a fresh mandate for the ruling NDA coalition.

General elections are widely expected to be held in April, more than six months before they are due.

Earlier on Friday, President APJ Abdul Kalam signed the proclamation dissolving the 13th Lok Sabha, after Mr Vajpayee's cabinet made the recommendation last week.

Earlier, both the houses of parliament were adjourned sine die on Thursday thus starting the final countdown for the general elections.

The 13th Lok Sabha was constituted on Oct 10, 1999, in the shadow of the Kargil conflict amid jingoist propaganda by Mr Vajpayee's right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party, and met for the first session on Oct 20 that year.

The NDA says it has opted for early polls to cash in on the so-called feel-good factor, both economic and political. The decision was prompted by the BJP's landslide victory in the recent assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

In 1996, a BJP government headed by Mr Vajpayee was sworn in, but it had to quit office in 13 days after failing to win support in parliament. He was sworn in again after inconclusive elections in 1998 but was defeated by a single vote in a no-trust motion following his Lahore visit.

On Friday, Mr Vajpayee addressed a large public meeting in New Delhi where he upheld the NDA's rule, and slammed the Congress for "mis-governance" in early years of independence.

"The common man is now fed-up, and needs relief," Mr Vajpayee said. "But whenever we have tried to bring about any positive change, we have been prevented from doing so for the lack of majority in the house."

As achievements of his government he said fresh talks with Pakistan were being held in a peaceful atmosphere. About Kashmir he said he had successfully held state polls in the disputed Himalayan region.

"Whatever problems we have faced we had inherited them from the Congress. The NDA has shattered the Congress' "false pride", Mr Vajpayee said.

On the issue of the border dispute with China, Mr Vajpayee called for a "serious and friendly dialogue with China", adding that the Sino-India problem too was a creation of the previous Congress governments.

AFP adds: India's autonomous Election Commission is expected to meet in the coming days to determine a date for the massive election in which 650 million people are eligible to vote.

BJP leaders indicated they want the vote held in April or May, before the monsoon. Vajpayee, who turned 79 in December, said last year he was on a final mission to resolve tension with Pakistan.

At the rally Vajpayee blamed the Congress for the insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1989.

"We did not give birth to terrorism in Kashmir. It was the Congress. We are trying to resolve it and in the past five years we have brought a change in Jammu and Kashmir," Vajpayee told the crowd.

"Congress turned arrogant and thought it was indispensable. This terrible pride had to be crushed," said Mr Vajpayee, India's first non-Congress premier to serve for more than five years.

"Today there is peace in India. Our borders are safe. India has a new stature in the international community and our stores are brimming with food. It is a picture of a confident India, a shining India," he said.