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Stage set for early LS poll New Delhi, December 26 The BJP’s attempt to pitch in for an early elections also comes after consultation with the RSS and its assurance of full support to the party. Mr Naidu, who asked the General Secretaries to prepare an action plan for the poll, tried to set the agenda for the elections stating that “the contest in the next poll will be between the two fronts — the front led by the credible, trusted and experienced leadership of Mr Vajpayee and the ‘tired, tried and failed’ front led by the Congress.” Speaking at a function organised to formalise the merger of the Simachal Vikas Party of Bihar, led by four-time Lok Sabha MP Sukdeo Paswan, in the BJP, Mr Naidu said while on one hand popularity of Vajpayee’s leadership growing not only in India but also abroad, on the other there was not only a confusion but also a big question mark was emerging on the leadership of the Congress. In a related development, sources in the BJP told The Tribune that the party leadership had started pitching for an early poll only after the RSS gave its mind and assured full support to the party in the general elections like it did in the recent Assembly elections. They said the entire issues and aspects relating to the Lok Sabha poll would be debated thoroughly at the BJP’s National Executive Meeting in Hyderabad on January 11 and 12.  |
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Cong to forge alliances New Delhi, December 26 The unilateral declaration was made by party spokesperson S.Jaipal Reddy at his daily briefing. Reiterating the party’s stand on alliances articulated at its Shimla conclave, Mr Reddy said the Congress had its own plans for electoral understandings with secular parties and that it would firm up its plans as and when elections were announced. Some alliances could be firmed up before and others after the elections, he added. Regarding questions over Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, Mr Reddy maintained that other political parties could not decide on who should lead the party. Holding out clear invitation to potential allies, Mr Reddy admitted to the Congress’s organisational weakness in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu where, he said, they would need the strength of allies to fight the NDA. Mr Reddy’s remarks come against the backdrop of the Congress’s recent defeats in three states and the growing realisation in the party that it will need to build a broad national alliance of secular forces if it is to take on the NDA coalition. In fact, the Pranab
Mukherjee committee, looking into the reasons for the party’s defeat, is learnt to have underlined the need for building an anti- NDA coalition. The committee’s report, which is likely to be submitted to Congress President next week, has made a
strong case for entering into partnerships with multi-state parties like the BSP and the Left Front as well as regional parties and groups like the DMK, Nationalist Congress
Party(NCP), Telengana Rashtra Samiti and Gondwana Gantantra Party. “It is very clear that we will need alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu,” said Mr Reddy. He, however, refused to name the parties with which the Congress planned a partnership here, only stating that they were yet to decide on their allies. Though no names have been officially mentioned, party sources said informal contacts had been established with the BSP and DMK. An alliance with the BSP can only be finalised when the Congress withdraws support from the SP-led government in Uttar Pradesh. Similarly, it can only firm up its partnership with the DMK once the latter quits the NDA. As for Maharashtra, Mr Reddy maintained that preliminary discussions between the Congress and the NCP are underway though he did not think it will be possible to meet the December 31 deadline set by NCP leader Sharad Pawar for finalising the alliance. |
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