New Delhi, Sept 14: There could be early elections but they would have nothing to do with the India-US civil nuclear deal, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Prithviraj Chavan said here on Friday.

"Elections are scheduled for 2009. But it could be earlier also," he told reporters on the sidelines of a discussion on the Doha round meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

"Elections are a political process and we would wait for the opportune moment," he said. There have been indications of early polls with the stability of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's coalition government being questioned following the Left's adamant opposition to the nuclear deal and threat of serious consequences if the government went ahead with it.

Chavan said New Delhi would sign the agreement only after ensuring the best deal for it. "Signing of the deal would be after a lot of negotiation and we will ensure the best deal for the country. Elections have nothing to do with it.

"We are negotiating with full sincerity and are hopeful that the stand off (with the Left) would be resolved and apprehensions would be addressed," he said, referring to the UPA alliance's discussions with the Left parties over the agreement.

A 15-member UPA-Left committee was formed last week to discuss the concerns raised by the communists over the 123 agreement and its impact on the country's foreign policy and its indigenous nuclear development. The committee held its first meeting Tuesday and the second meeting is scheduled for Sep 19.