BJP to target George at NDA meet

BJP leaders are so bitter about George and Hegde that Home Minister L K Advani made a poser to them yesterday: `How would have they felt if we had admitted Laloo Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal into NDA without their knowledge.’

How could Fernandes, who also is NDA convenor, announce that JD henceforth, would be part of the NDA without consulting other allies, BJP leaders ask.

A senior BJP leader went to the extent of threatening their relationship with Lok Shakti and Samata if the two parties decided tocontest on JD’s election symbol, the wheel. But the party would not have any objections if the JD candidates contested on either Samata or Lok Shakti’s symbol, he said.

BJP leaders are angry with Fernandes and Hegde for reportedly keeping in dark even Prime Minister A B Vajpayee who is also NDA chairman.

`If they had taken the Prime Minister into confidence about unification of three parties. let him say so at NDA meeting. So far neither Fernandes nor Hegde has uttered a word on the issue’, said a BJP leader. To the best of my knowledge Vajpayeeji was not aware of the parleys between the three parties, Mathur claimed.

BJP leaders are targeting Fernandes apparently to counter his enhanced claims during distribution of seats for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Fernandes’s Samata Party wanted to contest about 30 seats in five or six states during 1998 elections but was allowed to contest only 24 seats – 22 in Bihar and two in Uttar Pradesh.

Samata Party wanted to fight on about 40 seats inseven-eight states this time and BJP leaders apprehend that its demand might go upto 60 seats after the unification of three parties. BJP’s attack on Fernandes was aimed at deflating the Samata balloon.

BJP leaders are also demanding that NDA should clearly define its relationship with JD. This is also important because while JD is going for an alliance with NDA constituents in Karnataka and Bihar, JD candidates would be contesting against BJP and Biju Janada Dal candidates in Orissa as BJD leaders have refused to have any truck with JD there.

Similarly, JD would be contesting against NDA constituents in other states like UP, Rajasthan and Gujarat, etc. where they might not be a formidable force but were in a position to affect a section of voters.

BJP as well as other NDA constituents are closely watching the tussle between the two JD factions for the election symbol and recognition from the Election Commission.

Besides other issues, BJP leaders are also questioning in the manner in which leaderslike Chandra Shekhar who were openly critical of BJP were roped in. `George and Hegde will have to explain the rationale for parleying with people who actively participated in toppling the Vajpayee Government’ said another BJP leader.