Advani Rules Out Conscience Vote In Presidential Poll

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president L K Advani has ruled out any conscience vote by his party in the forthcoming presidential election.

Instead, the BJP was in favour of a consensus candidate, though it was still to decide its role in the presidential elections, Advani said at the Netaji Subhas Bose international airport yesterday morning.

The BJP would not go for conscience vote, he said when reminded that former chief election commissioner T N Seshan had also joined the fray.

In reply to a question, Advani, however, dismissed Prime Minister I K Gujral's consensus policy in national politics for ensuring his government's stability.

Advani will attend public functions as well as party meetings in the city till today before returning to Delhi.

He was received at the airport by state party president Bishnukant Shastri and other leaders.

Meanwhile, Advani has described as unprecedented and unethical President Shanker Dayal Sharma's decision to give a second chance to the United Front (UF) to form a government and said that his party could have come to power if it had really tried.

We said that to the President. We used the words that this would be unprecedented, it would be unethical and so unacceptable, Advani said in an interview to Home TV programme scheduled for telecast tomorrow.

The President, however, seemed more concerned about avoiding an election, Advani said.

We sensed from the conversation that it was his (President's) reluctance to have the country go for another general election that has made him take this decision. He obviously was influenced very much by the desire to avoid an election, the BJP leader said, adding,