A Quandary for Gandhi

Democracy in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh was a three-time loser last week. In three consecutive one-day sessions of the state assembly in Hyderabad, the capital, members of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's Congress (I) Party and defectors from the opposition party shouted obscenities, set firecrackers and otherwise proved so disruptive that each meeting had to be postponed. The sessions were intended to let former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao, 61, who was deposed Aug. 16 by Gandhi forces, prove that his dismissal was illegal. The gatherings were also to be a test of political strength for Gandhi, who must call national elections by January.

Rama Rao's supporters, angered by the attempts of Congress (I) to buy time and votes, took to the streets in Hyderabad by the thousands, tossing flowers and coins, to show their support for the ousted Chief Minister, a former movie actor. The outpouring of public sympathy for Rama Rao seemed to signal a reversal in Gandhi's popularity, which had been rising steadily since she ordered an army assault on Sikh extremists at the Golden Temple in Amritsar last June. Although Gandhi still denies any involvement in the affairs of Andhra Pradesh, she nonetheless faces two equally unappealing options in the state: she can dismiss the assembly and impose direct rule from New Delhi or allow Rama Rao to be reinstated by a vote of the assembly. Either way she risks more unpopularity and a tough election campaign ahead.