Ready to face polls: Vajpayee

While Vajpayee maintained that ‘‘nothing has been decided’’ on who would lead the party in the polls, he hinted at a realignment of parties saying that the NDA’s ‘‘nature may change slightly. Some parties have left us, but we will add some new allies’’. And rumblings in the Congress-NCP camp are indicative of what may happen in the future.

The BJP’s in-house assessment says the party might face more than its share of woes in two crucial states — Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Vajpayee felt that ‘‘if the leaders of the JP movement come together, Bihar won’t be a problem’’ and that ‘‘Uttar Pradesh is the real challenge’’. He said, ‘‘We will increase our strength in Rajasthan.’’ As for Orissa, he did not foresee the NDA losing some seats in Orissa. ‘‘No way, the Congress is in a bad shape there.’’

‘‘A Ram temple at Ayodhya,’’ he added, ‘‘is a universal demand. There are people’s sentiments attached to it.’’ However, he hoped that ‘‘a solution can be found with the goodwill of all concerned.’’ As for the prospect of his party bringing forward Ayodhya, Article 370 and the common civil code if it gets a majority, the PM said, ‘‘some of these have been part of the BJP manifesto.’’

Asked how the BJP would touch the 180-mark without putting its house in order in UP, he said, ‘‘not 180. We have to get much more than that’’.

Regarding scandals like the petrol pump and UTI scams, and Bangaru Laxman and Dilip Singh Judeo tapes, he said, ‘‘The entire system has to be changed. Elections are increasingly becoming costlier. Where does the money come from? Who gives it? These things influence politics. It is a big problem in our democracy.’’

On the remarks made by CEC J.M. Lyngdoh about politicians, Vajpayee said ‘‘he should not have said it’’, but felt that the country is suffering from corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.

Describing himself as a votary of swadeshi, the PM said: ‘‘The difference between swadeshi and videshi has narrowed down considerably.’’

He said, ‘‘one of our achievements is making economic reforms work for the benefit of the people. Now a vegetable vendor can afford a mobile phone.’’ On whether individualism had slowed down the disinvestment process, he said: ‘‘Individuals have differences. We know this would be a slow process. It cannot be faster than this. This is democracy. It has its own pace.’’

Denying he had compromised on principles while running the coalition, the PM said: ‘‘We did not give coalition partners any unnecessary concessions. We gave them sufficient foodgrains,’’ in a clear reference to TDP leader N. Chandrababu’s frequent demands for rice.