At the same time, Thakre made it clear that the BJP was not likely to take the first step by jettisoning the AIADMK from the coalition, no matter what the provocation, by putting the onus of the continuance of the Vajpayee government on all members of the coalition and saying that it was in the ``national interest''. The BJP would prefer Jayalalitha to take the flak of putting the government into a minority.

With other allies also making murmurs of discontent, Thakre called for ``mutual understanding and adjustment''. He exhorted all the BJP's allies not to air their ``perceived grievances or differences'' through the media but make the Coordination Committee an effective mechanism. Allies should forsake ``minor issues'' for thelarger goal, he said, pointing out that the BJP, too, had set aside its own pet issues.

In his opening address to the three-day BJP National Executive that began here this afternoon, the party president took the unusual step of criticising the government for the price rise and called for immediate remedial measures. ``The most visible shortcoming of the government has been on the price front,'' he said. While blaming previous governments and nature's vagaries, he called for a crackdown on hoarders and blackmarketeers who, he said, had compounded the problem.

While this lends objectivity to the meeting's aim of taking stock of the government's five months in office, it also seeks to distance the BJP from the people's anger at spiralling prices. Assembly elections due in November in four states - Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.

Although the Pokhran blasts were earlier touted as a major achievement of the government, Thakre devoted only one line of his six-page speech to the issue. This isseen as an indication that it had lost some of its appeal due to international and domestic criticism of the tests. All he said was that a ``decisive step forward has been taken in the form of the five nuclear tests''. However, party officials claimed that this was because a resolution on the tests is to be adopted by the Executive later.

To those in the party whose aspirations have not been met, Thakre urged patience. ``It must be understood that this is not a BJP government but a BJP-led government,'' he said, adding that five months was too short a time to pass judgement. In a signal that the BJP would do its best to stay in power, the party president stated, ``We will have to continue to work within the compulsions of coalition politics and with a wafer-thin majority in the Lok Sabha.''

In a blistering attack on Opposition parties, Thakre accused them of trying to forge an ``unholy alliance'' under the banner of secular forces: ``We are witness to the strange spectacle of the CPM and Congressdiscovering a natural ally in each other; of yesterday's crusaders against corruption joining hands with some of the most venal politicians.''

Accusing Opposition parties of trying to rake up communalism for the sake of votes, Thakre touched upon the Srikrishna Commission report and the attacks on minorities in Gujarat - both BJP-ruled states. The campaign on the Srikrishna Commission report was ``misguided and dangerous'' and conclusions of the report were ``far from being those of an unbiased judicial inquiry'', he said.

``Let us be mindful of maintaining communal peace in states where we are in power. The BJP has established that it can ensure a riot-free society. Let this record not be besmirched by the misadventures of our opponents,'' he said. BJP critics view the statement as an insurance against any law and order problems that may occur.