Bjp Prefers Mid-Term Poll

The BJP has concluded that a mid-term poll would be beneficial for the party and hence it should not be pro-active on forming an alternate government. However, it has told its alliance partners that it would try its best to form such a government if it can muster the majority.

Thus, the task of talking to the United Front's major constituents has fallen on the BJP's allies, who have confidently told BJP leaders that some of these constituents would indeed join a BJP-led coalition government.

A consensus for mid-term poll was hammered out at the meting of the BJP's general secretaries with party President LK Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Saturday.

 

Advani, who was recently cleared in the hawala case by the Delhi High Court, finally prevailed upon his party colleagues to accept that the best solution for the BJP is a mid-term poll.

This consensus was missing at a similar meeting before the party two-day national executive in the first week of April.

While Advani and one of his general secretaries wanted the thrust of the meeting's political resolution to be a mid-term poll, others favoured another attempt at forming an alternative government.

Finally the executive decided not to have a resolution.

However, the party is unlikely to declare its reluctance to form a hotch-potch government, fearing that it would alienate its allies, particularly the Akali Dal, the Samata Party and the Shiv Sena, a BJP office-bearer said. Some of these parties have clearly stated that they would not like a mid-term poll.

Even as the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray publicly stated that a mid-term would be favourable to it, some Shiv Sena MPs, including the party's parliamentary leader Madhukar Sarpotdar, are reported to have opposed elections.

Akali Dal's parliamentary leader Surjeet Singh Barnala has openly asked BJP leaders not to take a chance if it got an invitation from the President to form an alternate government. BJP leaders held that the invitation should not be accepted unless the party was sure of support from some of the major constituents of the United Front.

The Shiv Sena and the Akalis even contemplated supporting the ten-month- old Deve Gowda government if it was short of the majority by some seats. Besides their opposition to the Congress, these parties wanted to avert a mid-term poll.

Senior BJP leaders have also concluded that the party would have to concede major concessions to its coalition partners.

There were bound to be complications in such a large coalition, a BJP leader close to Advani admitted.

The BJP already has five allies The Akali Dal, the Samata Party, the Shiv Sena, the Haryana Vikas Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. For forming an alternate government, the party would at least need another five partners, he said.