BJP to go it alone

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 9. The Bharatiya Janata Party today decided to go it alone in Assam and oppose both the ruling Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

After detailed discussions with the party leaders from Assam, the BJP Central leadership arrived at the decision while expressing willingness to accommodate other smaller parties which preferred to join hands with it, the party Vice President, Mr. K. Jana Krishnamurthy, said here.

For the past few weeks there was speculation that the BJP may tie-up with the ruling AGP in order to check the Congress from coming back to power. The State unit was opposed to the idea of having an alliance with the ruling regional party.

According to Mr. Sunil Shastri who is incharge of party affairs in the North-East, during discussions with State unit leaders a detailed constituency-wise analysis was conducted.

He said barring 21 of the 126 Assembly constituencies, the BJP would not have benefitted by going with the AGP.

He said the BJP which won two seats in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, lost on four by a narrow margin and the voting pattern showed that in 33 respective Assembly constituencies, the party emerged on top and finished second in another 27.

The BJP also decided it will go in for local adjustment in Kerala which will be determined on the eve of elections. It will neither join the LDF or the UDF, a statement by the BJP President, Mr. Bangaru Laxman said.

Party leaders from the four States and Union Territory - Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry - which are going to polls, were in the Capital to discuss the situation prevalent in their respective States and the electoral strategy which they considered to be best suited in the States.

As announced earlier, in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, the party will stay with the NDA allies, the Trinamool Congress and the DMK, respectively.

Mr. Krishnamurty said the BJP has accepted 39 seats offer by the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal while in Tamil Nadu the State Committee was presently holding talks with the DMK leaders on seat-sharing.

The BJP leader took a dig at the goings-on in the AIADMK-led front and the delay in arriving at an understanding with the Tamil Maanila Congress and Congress.

In Kerala, the electoral scenario was changing, he said claiming that the ruling LDF and opposition UDF was weakened by groupism.

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Section  : Other States
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