Warning signal

Sir, - Analysing the results of the recent byelections to 11 State Assembly constituencies and the Aska Lok Sabha seat from Orissa, your editorial ``On expected lines'' (The Hindu, May 31) has stressed the need for the RJD in Bihar and the BJD in Orissa to attend with more seriousness to the task of governance. Of course, the Congress(I) needs unity and rejuvenation. But it is the BJP which is placed in an intricate situation.

The Soron Assembly result is perhaps a warning signal for the BJP. The confusion over the leadership in U.P. and its reflection on the administration is a bane for the party. In Bihar the NDA was not able to recover from the already damaged image on the internal squabbles. In Bengal, while the good show put up by the Congress(I) is a boost to that party, it is a setback to the NDA. Here again the differences between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress had their impact. U.P. and Bihar are the States sending the largest number of members to Parliament.

If the BJP and NDA fail to read the writing on the wall and take timely action to sort out differences among the allies, to give good administration in States ruled by them, and to see that the poor are not affected by the liberalisation process, it may be difficult for them to retrieve the lost ground at the last moment.

A. Jacob Sahayam,

Karigiri (TN)

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