The BJP's national executive, starting here from tomorrow, would discuss with its State units the possibilities of striking more alliances at the State level. It would also identify the issues the party and its allies would rake up during the forthcoming elections.``The executive will identify (sic) basic outline BJP's alliances and poll strategy,'' party general secretary Venkaiah Naidu said.

BJP leaders are buoyed by positive signals for an electoral understanding with them, dropped by senior Janata Dal leader Ram Vilas Paswan yesterday. They also hope that another Janata Dal stalwart, the Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel, too would have a strategic alliance with the BJP and allies.

``The idea is to occupy the Janata Party's space,'' claimed a BJP general secretary. ``Janata Party symbolised a front againstcorrupt and tyrannical forces. Our front too would have a similar image, leading a fight against the Congress and people like Laloo Yadav,'' the leader claimed.

The party would pass only one resolution at the two-day national executive, incorporating both political and economic issues. The resolution is likely to laud the BJP-led Government's achievements, the circumstances leading to its fall and the party's electoral strategy, said a BJP leader.

The party wants to bring out the contrast between its front and the Congress, which has so far ``failed to identify its prospective allies''. ``While more and more parties have been joining the ranks of BJP's allies, those of the Congress have been deserting it,''claimed BJP vice president K L Sharma, ``As the party opens the door for one party, two of its allies go out by the same door.''

Among the issues the BJP intends to discuss at its national executive are foreign antecedents of the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her family's relations with one of therecipients of kickbacks in Bofors gun deal, Ottavio Quattorchi.

``Its nice to eat pizza, but we can't trust the fate of 100 million people in the hands (sic) of an Italian lady'' said a BJP leader. ``We can accept a foreigner as our bahu

(daughter-in-law) with honour and respect due to her, but can't hand over the reigns of country's power to her'' said another one.

That Sonia will be BJP's prime target was evident from Sharma's statement that the party and its allies would field a formidable candidate against her to make her path to the Parliament ``not a bed of roses''.

The party today expanded its 11-member election campaign committee by inducting two more members -- Bangaru Laxman, a Dalit and Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, a Muslim.

The committee met under the chairmanship of Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani today to discuss various issues to be raised at the national executive. The meeting also decided to form a number of sub-committees to lookafter various electoral aspects like campaign, tours, travel plans etc.

The meeting also sought to dispel the impression that BJP was rooting for early elections to reap electoral harvest of sympathy factor for Vajpayee. ``Our prospects won't be affected by the timing of the polls,'' Naidu claimed.

Naidu asserted that right now, the political situation was advantage BJP. ``We have performance to our credit, whereas the Opposition has no issues,'' he claimed.