Bjp To Exploit Court Order

The BJP is trying to split the Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh in order to prove Kalyan Singh governments majority in the state assembly.

The Allahabad high court judgement, restoring the status quo ante boosted the partys campaign for the removal of governor Romesh Bhandari.

The party will launch a state-wide agitation for his removal, party senior vice-president Sunder Singh Bhandari yesterday said. The court had vindicated the BJPs stand that the governors action was partisan, he said.

Senior BJP leaders spoke of the possiblity of a patch-up with the Loktantrik Congress MLAs if they decided to come back. About 15 BSP are said to be eager to switch over to the BJP, one of them claimed.

 

In this eventuality, the total number of BSP MLAs supporting the BJP government would go up to 23, thereby skirting the provisions of the anti-defection law as the BSP has a strength of 66 in a house of 424.

Party leaders feel that Vajpayees fast has boosted the partys chances in the state and contained the likely damage to the party due to the governments dismissal.

They feel the strategy of the non-BJP parties has failed.

To gain maximum mileage from the court judgement, the party has decided to do use it during the campaign for the third phase of polling scheduled on February 28.

The sense of desperation in the BJPs camp on Sunday was yesterday replaced with jubilation. This was also because of the fact that polling in Uttar Pradesh was substantially higher than that in 1996. BJP leaders interpreted this as a swing in the partys due to favour due to senior leader Atal Behari Vajpayees indefinite fast since Saturday.