BJP will get more allies after 2014: Jaitley

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is confident of getting more allies when it emerges "stronger" after the 2014 Lok Sabha election, party leader Arun Jaitley said Tuesday.

Jaitley also told a news conference that the BJP would never ally again with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), saying a previous alliance had proved disastrous for his party.

"We formed an alliance with BSP once, we paid a heavy price for that. We will not form any alliance with the BSP," he said.

"Some partners have left us, but we are hopeful we will get more partners as we emerge stronger in the (2014) election," said the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

"Once the political situation becomes more bi-polar, all anti-Congress parties in states will align with the BJP," he asserted.

The BJP's two major allies now are the Shiv Sena and Akali Dal.

Jaitley expressed confidence of his party's victory in the next Lok Sabha battle.

"Unlike many earlier elections, this election promises to become a leadership referendum," he said, in an obvious reference to Narendra Modi, the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

He said there were strong sentiments against the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, which has ruled India since 2004. He also ruled out the possibility of a Third Front playing a major role.

"The Third Front idea has become obsolete. So the BJP and NDA will automatically be the beneficiary of anti-incumbency."

Jaitley said the BJP was expecting a significant rise in vote share in states where it does not have any significant presence so far. He did not name the states.

He said that Modi was getting "enthusiastic response" all over the country.

Commenting on the ordinance approved by the cabinet to shield convicted lawmakers, Jaitley said the government tried to play "a clever political card" but the move backfired.

"They went ahead with the ordinance because they thought the way the Bihar situation is developing they will have more than one option," he said.

"They were playing a clever political card but it backfired... The government should have thought about it," he said.