NEW DELHI, March 5: With the numbers for an absolute majority still eluding it, the BJP today changed tack and began speaking of a ``working majority'' in the Lok Sabha, an arrangement by which P V Narasimha Rao ran his government for three years.With allies like Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha now talking of giving only outside support, the BJP is also taking a leaf out of the United Front book by talking of setting up a coordination committee - something it had hoped to avoid by including all allies in the government.The BJP has managed to cobble together 263 MPs (including the Haryana Lok Dal, Arunachal Congress and seven Independents) and is talking to two more Anand Mohan Singh of the RJP and Ram Sewak Thakur of the PWP. This still leaves it seven short of a majority.So the focus of negotiations now is on ``neutralising'' the anti-Congress constituents of the United Front like the TDP and JD: Ensuring that they abstain from voting against a BJP-led government during the confidence vote,President's Address and money bills. If this succeeds, the 12 TDP MPs and six of the JD would bring the total up to 281, nine more than the halfway mark of 272.The difficulties of managing a disparate coalition were rudely brought home to the BJP by Jayalalitha's sudden refusal to participate in a BJP-led government. BJP leaders said all efforts would be made to persuade Jayalalitha and Mamata to change their minds and join the government.Jayalalitha's volte face is being seen as a bargaining ploy to get an assurance from the BJP on the dismissal of the DMK government in Tamil Nadu. But given its stand against misuse of Article 356, the BJP will find it difficult to concede.BJP general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu flew to Chennai last night to meet Jayalalitha and reported to the high command that she seemed to have an ``open mind'' on the question of participation. But she is also staying away from tomorrow's meeting here of the BJP and its allies, ostensibly because she has to recover from a footoperation. She has said that she will come here on Sunday; her emissary is expected to attend tomorrow's meeting.This is only the first of the many problems that are in store for the BJP. Next in line may be meeting allies' demands for satisfactory representation in the council of ministers. The BJP may have to ask its own MPs to take a back seat when it comes to division of portfolios. ``This is the worst kind of hung Parliament because it is vertically divided into two. It will be very difficult to run such a Lok Sabha it will need a very responsive government and a very responsible Opposition,'' said BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan.As a first step towards running a government by consensus, the national agenda (a euphemism for a common minimum programme) will omit any reference to Ayodhya, common civil code and Article 370.Instead, the basis is to be the unanimous resolution adopted by Parliament during the golden jubilee special session last August, which focussed on population, education,health and other basic issues. The other would be the President's Address during Atal Behari Vajpayee's 13-day government, which also skirted contentious issues. Meanwhile, the BJP was buoyed by Chandrababu Naidu's assertion that the TDP would remain neutral and not support the Congress. Going beyond intermediaries, direct contact has now been established between the BJP and Naidu.The BJP's assessment is that he needs cooling time before he can support them, that he cannot be expected to do a U-turn immediately after the elections especially as he is convenor of the UF. The BJP's office bearers met today for a strategy session on government formation and exchanged information on talks with friendly parties. A number of leaders of allied parties met Vajpayee, including Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal, Bansi Lal (Haryana Vikas Party), S S Barnala (Akali Dal) and Subramanian Swamy.The Akalis were the first party to give a formal letter of unconditional support to Vajpayee, which has also been sent tothe President. A similar letter was given by Satnam Singh Kainth, a BSP rebel elected from Punjab.
