Elections are again on us with the Election Commission announcing on Sunday that polls for the 13th Lok Sabha would be held between September 4 and October 1 in five phases. Significantly, the beleagured and wartorn state of Jammu and Kashmir will also to the hustings while the elections to the Assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Sikkim would be held simultaneously.

With the war almost behind the country but its ravages still shaking the psyche of the people, this election is going to be one of the watershed events in the nation's history and will be a major referendum on whether the country is in safe hands. The Left parties have already geared up for the campaigning and has said that while the war could not be disassociated from the election at this time, it was also important to understand the reason which had led to the mindless violence which brought havoc and sadness to millions of homes throughout the country.