The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sunday, November 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India

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Poll pacts left to states
Satish Misra
Tribune News Service

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with BJP President Jana Krishnamurthy at a meeting in Amritsar on Friday. — PTI photo

BJP President Jana Krishnamurthy addresses a Press conference after the conclusion of the two-day national executive committee meeting of the party in Amritsar on Saturday. He is flanked by Mr. Brij Lal Rinwa (state BJP president) and Ms Maya Singh (general secretary, BJP). — Photo Karam Singh

Amritsar, November 3
The two-day national executive committee meeting of the BJP concluded here today, empowering state units in Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Punjab to forge alliances with political parties for the coming Assembly elections and decide about the arrangement of seat-sharing.

While the presidents of the BJP units of UP, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra presented their respective reports about electoral prospects and assessment, the executive, in the presence of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L.K. Advani, gave powers to the state units to look for allies and work towards arrangements which would ensure electoral success.

The executive has decided to take the issue of terrorism to the masses by observing a national unity day against terrorism on November 18, a day before the winter session of Parliament is scheduled to begin during which the Prevention of Terrorism Bill is due to be introduced for eventual enactment.

Assembly elections are due in UP, Punjab and Uttaranchal. The corporation elections in Delhi are slated to be held along with the Assembly elections sometime in February-March next year.

Briefing newspersons, BJP President K. Jana Krishnamurthi said the state units expressed confidence of winning the elections and claimed that they would be able to increase the number of seats.

The election machinery in the states going to the polls is well geared and preparations are on in full swing, Mr Krishnamurthi pointed out, adding that the selection of party candidates would begin in late December. The state presidents reported about the programmes and mass contact campaign that the BJP state units had undertaken since the last executive meeting, Mr Krishnamurthi said.

Talking to mediapersons, UP BJP chief Kalraj Mishra said while no final decision had yet been taken on the issues that would be taken during the elections, it was certain that terrorism-related internal security issues would occupy a prominent place. The BJP would inform the masses that Opposition parties like the Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Left parties were opposing the government efforts to fight terrorism only for political reasons.

The ISI activities in UP and in other states, along with the ban on SIMI, would figure in the elections, he said, adding that “appeasement of none and justice for all” would be our slogan.

In this context, the UP unit would inform the people that the Rajnath Singh government had proved the point by ensuring reservation in jobs for the most backward castes. Mr Mishra said.

“We will also tell the electorate that only the BJP can give a stable government irrespective of the number of seats as we have shown in UP and at the Centre,” Mr Mishra said.

Whether Ram Temple is going to be an issue, the UP President said, “we have never made it an issue. It is not a political issue but a social and a national one. We only want to ensure that obstacles on the way of the construction of the temple are removed. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee himself has expressed the hope of finding a solution by March 12”.

Delhi BJP President Mange Ram Garg said the party was sure of winning the elections in the Capital.

BJP keen on unity of Akali factions
Varinder Walia
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
In a report on the prospects of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly elections, the Punjab unit of the party hopes that the SAD-BJP alliance will sweep the polls. There is, however, one rider. The state’s BJP leadership is keen on Akali unity and has sought intervention of central leadership on the issue.

The reports, however, said that the BJP would not indulge in pressure tactics or blackmailing” while sharing seats with political ally the Shiromani Akali Dal, Mr Avinash Jaiswal, general secretary of the Punjab BJP said that while presenting report to the national executive committee it was stated that the party would convince its political ally the SAD to allocate seats in eight districts of Punjab where the BJP did not have any representation. The state BJP president, Mr Brij Lal Rinwa, however, said that the party favoured intervention of the central leadership for bringing unity between the ruling Akali Dal and Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal, led by Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, the Report, presented, reveals that out of 23 seats contested by the party, it won 18.

Despite erosion of party’s base in Punjab, the state unit presented a ‘rosy picture’ before the national executive committee. The report expressed hope that like previous elections, the SAD-BJP would sweep the coming Assembly elections.

The report said that the state unit already had geared itself for the Assembly elections claiming that after taking over the reigns of state unit Mr Rinwa ensured the induction of a state minister and a deputy minister in the Punjab Cabinet apart from ensuring one seat in the Rajya Sabha, the party’s report claimed that the BJP had made inroads into other backward classes, downtrodden and even rural areas.

After the national executive committee meeting, Mr K. Jana Krishnamurthy, national president of the party, claimed that the alliance between the SAD-BJP was extremely successful.

The presence of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister and president, Shiromani Akali Dal after the end of first session and the standing ovation given to him also raised hopes that partners of the alliance would iron out differences, if any.

Sources pointed out that the presence of Mr Badal in the city for two consecutive days was aimed at sorting out some significant issues pertaining to the Punjab farmers. He reportedly made some valuable suggestions to BJP leadership to increase the chances of winning the forthcoming elections.

Since the TADA, MISA and other acts were abused the most in Punjab, the national BJP president made special reference to the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO), allaying apprehension regarding the abuse of POTO, the National Executive meeting said that this was done during the Congress regime, though the SAD is in principle is against the POTO, the national executive committee stated that any party which opposed such an ordinance would be going against national interests.

Earlier, while addressing the national executive committee Mr Brij Lal Rinwa said that Punjab had passed through turbulence in the recent past. Mr Rinwa said with the efforts of all concerned it (terrorism) had become a thing of the past.