``But personally I feel the war will be over by September,'' he told a media conference on Monday. Thakre, who is in Chennai to review the party state unit's preparedness for the coming Lok Sabha elections, pointed out that the Constitution obligated the convening of the new Lok Sabha by October 21. However, if the war continued, a meeting of all political parties could be convened to discuss the feasibility of holding the elections, he said, replying to a pointed query.

Asked if the Kargil issue would be a key campaign plank of the BJP, he merely said, Kashmir problem was the first priority of the country. ``First win the war. Then the elections,'' he insisted, hinting thatthe BJP might turn Kargil war into a major plank at the hustings. Thakre went on to add that June 23 will observed as Kashmir Day by the BJP when blood donation camps will be held all over the country.

Stating that the defence forces would give a ``fitting reply to Pakistan's betrayal,'' he alleged that Pakistan was ``trying to change the Line of Control (LoC) and the map forcefully''. Though the entire country should be standing behind the Army which is valiantly fighting the infiltrators, he said the Congress was unfortunately reacting in a negative manner.