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The Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to handle its alliance partners in a sensitive manner, at least until the seat sharing arrangements are finalised. The party's state units have been asked to identify the Lok Sabha seats the party should contest. The final decision will, however, be taken at the central level.

The BJP is likely to nominate central leaders for supervising seat-sharing talks with various allies so that the party's state units do not create problems while alliances are being forged.

As per the BJP's calculations, the alliances have to be firmly in place to take the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) tally to 300 in the Lok Sabha. This would be a gain of 30 over the 1998 elections. The seat-sharing arrangements are likely to be finalised by the end of July.

 

The state leaders have been asked to send their recommendations by July 17.

Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are the two problem areas for the BJP. Party leaders have decided to walk a tight rope while dealing with these two parties and also the DMK as the NDA has a high stake high in Tamil Nadu.

The BJP's parliamentary board, which met at Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's residence on Tuesday, identified Pawar's party as a potential poll partner, particularly in Maharashtra. Publicly, however, the BJP is likely to maintain a distance till an understanding with the NCP is reached.

The party is likely to present Sharad Pawar's party as the real Congress in Maharashtra, a BJP leader said. The talks are likely to be finalised at the level of central leaders.

The party expects to achieve major gains in Maharashtra if it can reach a seat sharing arrangement with the NCP, another party leader said. Party general secretary Sangh Priya Gautam is trying hard to rope in the Republican Party of India into the BJP's alliance network.

Some BJP leaders are unhappy with the TDP for not clarifying its stand on alliance with the BJP. The TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu wants to keep everybody guessing till the last hour, a party leader said. The BJP would have to counter the TDP's move by becoming aggressive about contesting all the Lok Sabha seats in the state, he said.

The parliamentary board decided to continue its alliance with the Akali Dal led by Prakash Singh Badal. Any relation with the split Akali group would depend on its attitude, party general secretary K N Govindacharya said. He, however, added that the BJP would not do anything without taking Badal into confidence.