WORLD : Gandhi Calls Surprise Elections

NEW DELHI — Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi today called parliamentary elections earlier than had been expected, on Nov. 22 and 24.

“It was a stroke out of the blue and the immediate reaction was panic,” said a broker on the Bombay Stock Exchange, where share prices tumbled as rumors spread that the government had decided to go to the polls for the 545-seat Lok Sabha or lower house of Parliament. Bombay brokers said nobody expected elections in November and charges of corruption against the government had focused attention on the uncertainties ahead.

An official source said the government had made the announcement to end speculation that Gandhi planned to postpone elections altogether. The Gandhi government is beset with allegations of corruption in a $1.3-billion deal for the Swedish Bofors Co. to provide army field guns.