Also on 15 January, The Chronicle on 15 January reported that any doubt that state politicians would be constrained by term limits in the 1998 elections was removed yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to lift the voter-approved restrictions. Without comment, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor denied an emergency request by term limits opponents to suspend a federal appeals court ruling last month that left the law in place. But the issue is not settled. The high court still must decide whether to hear the case, a decision that will come too late to affect this year's election but might influence the 2000 elections. The Miami Herald on 15 January reported that police fired tear gas Tuesday at thousands of opposition supporters who defied a government ban on street demonstrations to protest alleged election fraud.
Observers say their campaign has been the most focussed on issues and the most well organised.
But with a month to go before the first day of voting in the general election it is still far too early to say who has the upper hand. Mrs Gandhi began her campaign earlier this week with her daughter Priyanka at a rally just outside Madras, close to the site of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. On 14 January, The BBC citing the Indian news agency PTI noted that the United Front was scheduled to launch its election campaign in Andhra Pradesh. Premier I.K. Gujral due to address public meeting in Hyderabad on 19 January. The San Francisco Examiner on 15 January reported that no fewer than nine initiatives have been proposed for the June ballot, targeting everything from rent control and sewer rates to funding for Mayor Brown's office of protocol and the use of Treasure Island.