The Hindu : BJP for early LS elections?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 14, 2003

Front Page

Front Page

BJP for early LS elections?

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI JUNE 13. The pace at which the Bharatiya Janata Party is preparing for polls has led many to believe that an early Lok Sabha election is on the cards, but the state of health of the party's allies may be the dampening factor which could prevent this.

The more likely scenario is a Lok Sabha poll around February next year, but only if the BJP bags at least three of the four States of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi that go to the polls in four to five months, party sources indicated today. If the BJP failed in the Assembly elections, naturally it would like to put the maximum distance between these polls and the Lok Sabha election.

The BJP's coming `chintan baithak' to be held near Mumbai for four days from June 17 will be devoted to a detailed discussion on the strategy for the general election. A realistic assessment of the strength of the party and its allies (although the BJP has been boasting it will get 300 seats of its own it may have to struggle to keep the 182 Lok Sabha seats and would need at least 100 from allies), the timing of the polls, identification of allies, including a decision on its relationship with "ally" DMK and "friend" AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, selection of emotive issues which could be raised, a study of political developments since 1999 affecting the BJP and its allies, firming seat sharing arrangements with new allies such as the Bahujan Samaj Party, discussing internal BJP dynamics and the party's relationship with the other organisations of the Sangh Parivar will all be discussed by the 25 to 30 leaders in the presence of the RSS leader "in-charge" of BJP affairs, Madan Das Devi. The question whether the party should consider a separate manifesto or go along with a joint agenda with its allies is also expected to come up.

The significance of the meeting can be gauged from the fact that the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has now decided to devote three days to this, from June 17 to 19, and the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, is expected to join the deliberations on June 18, as soon as he returns from the United States.

Some senior party leaders have indicated that although there was a section in the party advocating the holding of the Lok Sabha polls along with the Assembly elections, this did not seem possible as all the BJP's allies might not be ready to plunge into early polls. And even if this hurdle was overcome, the exact timing of the poll would be decided by the Election Commission.

At the moment, a badly-mauled Trinamool Congress was not in a position to think of early polls, the Samata Party was embroiled in its own internal squabbles and the Biju Janata Dal was losing its grip over Orissa. There was the matter of choosing between the AIADMK and the DMK, the party was yet to settle the dispute between the Indian National Lok Dal and its Haryana State unit, and above all, it was not at all certain whether the TDP, which was likely to face a strong anti-incumbency factor, would want to advance the polling date.

The Mumbai conclave might consider the likely electoral effect of the proposed talks with Pakistan. And after the recent "leadership controversy" what seems certain is that it will be Mr. Vajpayee who will lead the campaign and will most certainly be projected as a Prime Minister.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page

Stories in this Section

Pak. trying to secure Kashmir through terrorism: Advani

`Cross-border terrorism has not ended'

Musharraf `more than willing' to meet Vajpayee

Rao Govt.'s decision to ban VHP was correct: Centre

BJP for early LS elections?

Cong. men open fire, 8 injured

Sharad Yadav manhandled

U.S. forces kill 27 Iraqis

Talhan shrine vacated