NEW DELHI, March 6: The Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have moved a step closer to power on Friday with the United Front failing to arrive at a consensus on support to a Congress-led government.In a significant pointer of the shape of things to come, Andhra Pradesh chief minister and United Front convener N Chandrababu Naidu refused to brand the BJP as a communal party in his press conference after the UF core committee meeting. Naidu also indicated that his party may not be hostile to the installation of a BJP government at the centre. Naidu, however, said that he would remain in the UF and take a decision on floor management at the UF core committee meeting on March 10. He said that he was not concerned about the growth of BJP in his state. "It is an euphoria. They do not have any infrastructure. They benefited as people voted for stability and Atal Behari Vajpayee."
He said that the TDP had fought the BJP as well. Asked if he would vote against the BJP government, he said, "I shall answer it at anappropriate time. So far the UF has maintained equidistance. There are people and parties in UF who fought the Congress."
Told that Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav had shown keenness to join a Congress-led government, Naidu retorted, "In all other states, including UP and West Bengal, the parties are not fighting the Congresss. It is only AGP and TDP who are fighting the Congress."
He called for a rethinking on reforming the political and electoral system so that in the event of a hung Lok Sabha or Assembly, "we are not bothered with an unstable government. So much time is spent on forming and destablising governments".
The division in the UF was clear from the statement of Karnataka chief minister J H Patel in Bangalore that a majority of Janata Dal leaders, including prime minister I K Gujral, are agreed on the view that the party should not go out of its way to stall a BJP-led Front from coming to power.On the other hand, UF spokesman Jaipal Reddy, after the core committee meeting said,"We have all taken the view that we must adopt a common line and remain united under all circumstances."
The meeting presided over by the former prime minister H D Deve Gowda was attended by all UF leaders. The spokesperson parried questions on whether the UF would support a Congress-led government or continue dialogue with the party on government formation. "Informal consultations always take place among political parties. Nobody is authorised and nobody is prevented," he said.
When asked if the Congress had approached the UF or the UF had approached the Congress on governemnt formation, Reddy said: "No such proposal has been mooted". However, he made it clear that "the UF is not laying claim to power at this stage".
Asked if the UF would remain united till the next meeting in view of the contradictory statements of its constituents, Reddy reiterated that it would remain united and said the justification for the UF was to fight communalism. "We will not compromise on this," he said.
Meanwhile, BJP,along with its allies, moved one step ahead by announcing its decision to set up a coordination body and formulate a national agenda by March 9 for effective governance. The decision was taken at a closed-doors meeting at the residence of Atal Behari Vaajpayee. The party also officially claimed the support of six more MPs raising its tally to 257.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
