Date:07/04/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/04/07/stories/2003040702691100.htm

National

`Hindutva will not be Assembly poll plank'

Jaipur April 6. Hindutva will not be a poll plank for the Bharatiya Janata Party during Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Chhattisgarh, the BJP general secretary and campaign in-charge for the elections, Pramod Mahajan, said today.

The BJP will take on the Congress on the plank of governance in these States. The party was also not in the mood for tie-ups with any party during the elections, he said.

Talking to reporters here, Mr Mahajan sought to drive home the point that the party had contested the Gujarat elections in a different environment.

The situation was different in the four States, where the Congress had been in power for long periods.

While some of the National Democratic Alliance partners could field candidates in Rajasthan, Mr. Mahajan said his party only stood to gain if the Indian National Lok Dal of Om Prakash Chautala, the Lok Dal of Ajit Singh and the Bahujan Samaj Party entered the poll arena here.

`Ayodhya: law favoured'

The party still favours making a law to pave way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, but the party lacks the numbers in the Lok Sabha to push through the legislation, Mr. Mahajan said. — UNI