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Even as they hope for a windfall, possible if the political turmoil
leads to mid-term elections, BJP leaders are keeping their fingers
crossed, analysing various options open to them to stop the
formation of a Congress-led coalition government at the Centre.
The BJP sees an "unprecedented opportunity" coming its way, and
therefore its president L.K. Advani's message to the rank and file
at the opening of the two-day national executive meeting here on
Saturday was "let us get ready for governance."
Though the party maintains that it would under no circumstances
bail out the Deve Gowda government, it has decided to keep options
open until D-day, April 11, when the Lok Sabha will see the
government trying to prove its majority. "After April 11, the MPs
would be left with only two options - either to reinstall a
government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee or face snap poll," said
BJP general secretary Venkaiah Naidu, making it clear that the
saffron brigade would stake claim to form the government in the
event of the defeat of the confidence motion.
A confident Mr Advani felt that the "time for the BJP to govern has
indeed come." However, he had a word of caution for the party
workers when he said, "No one and nothing, except our omen
organisational weaknesses, can now stop the BJP from coming to
power at the Centre." By mentioning "organisational weakness," Mr
Advani perhaps had in mind the sad experience of Gujarat and recent
infighting in the party Rajasthan unit. To avoid such situations
which could mar the BJP's prospects in the mid-term polls he said,
"We must put forward the entire weight of out organisation - right
from the highest to the lowest levels - to ensure that the party
gets a clear majority".
Criticising the adversaries of the BJP, Mr Advani said, "One
experiment in barren anti-BJPism has collapsed. The second may not
take off. Even if it does, there is little doubt that this too
will crashland soon."
He said the manner in which Congress president Sitaram Kesri
withdrew his party's support to the UF government and the manner in
which Mr Gowda tried to pre-empt it, "are so murky as to make any
self-respecting Indian hang his head in shame."
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