NEW DELHI, January 10: The BJP's balancing act with its electoral partners continued today with Atal Bihari Vajpayee offering to avoid controversial issues such as Ayodhya, uniform civil code and Article 370 if his party and its allies decided to go in for joint campaigns.Tacitly acknowledging the reservations that some of the BJP's allies have on its Hindutva agenda, he said, "We don't expect our allies to accept our manifesto and vice versa. We will contest on our own separate manifestos."A Common Minimum Programme (CMP), he said, could be considered after the elections, if necessary.Addressing the media at the Press Club of India here today, the BJP's shadow prime minister reiterated his stand on minorities. Claiming that India will continue to be a secular state if the BJP comes to power, he said: "India will not be a theocracy. We believe in positive, not negative secularism. Minorities are Indian citizens with rights and privileges. There will be no discrimination on the basis of religion."Vajpayee's offer for a joint campaign with allies assumes significance in the light of differences between moderates and hardliners in the BJP over diluting the party's Hindutva agenda to accommodate allies. If these issues are swept under the carpet during the campaign, they may similarly be kept out of the CMP. Vajpayee has already said that the BJP is keen to form a coalition government with its allies.On Ayodhya, Vajpayee said there was extensive scope for a dialogue. "We are sure some solution can emerge," he said. Asked about Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's proposal yesterday that a "national monument" be built there, Vajpayee played it safe. He said several suggestions had emerged as new situations arose.Vajpayee's scintillating oratory has been drawing large crowds during his pre-poll campaign in the country but the sparkle was missing today. Not just that, he evaded tricky questions like the BJP's stand vis-a-vis the VHP's agenda, Sonia Gandhi and whether Bofors would now be made a big campaign issue.Later in the day, the BJP began the complicated exercise of selecting candidates The party's central election committee began its three-day meeting by discussing Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa and the north-eastern states. However, no decisions were taken for the potentially troublesome states where the BJP has yet to finalise seat-sharing with allies. In the first round, the party is to take up seats where it already has sitting MPs. The first list of candidates is to be released on Monday. The central election committee would hold further rounds of meetings.Replying to questions on wide-ranging issues at the meet-the-press programme, Vajpayee said that the first thing he would do if voted to power was to bring legislation to give 33 per cent reservation to women in Parliament and state assemblies. "It is very difficult to field women candidates without reservation. We are trying to field as many as possible but I am not sure that the number will be high," he said.Another commitment was to ensure that the defence requirements of the security forces are fully met. The defence budget has not increased if inflation was taken into account, he said, adding that the country needed a well-integrated security policy.Asked about the BJP's allies (some of whom, like the AIADMK, are controversial), Vajpayee replied, "We have forged the right alliances at the right time and they will give the right results. I don't agree that there will be a hung Parliament."
