The BJP factor in US polls

8216;8216;You mean there are Indian pollsters there too hedging their bets?8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;This only means that nobody really knows what happens till the last minute,8217;8217; explained Mukul, 8216;8216;both are running neck-and-neck.8217;8217;

8216;8216;I know 8212; unlike the recent Indo-Australian cricket series,8217;8217; I pointed out. 8216;8216;Since the end result is known 8212; that India will lose 8212; there is betting on who will play and who will not. I believe book-makers have made a killing on Ganguly8217;s injury.8217;8217;

8216;8216;You can imagine what would have happened when it came to Sachin8217;s elbow,8217;8217; opined Mukul. 8216;8216;People are actually betting that injury-free Dravid and Laxman who had poor scores recently could be next8230;8217;8217;

8216;8216;I know all that but what are Bush8217;s chances,8217;8217; I asked, very concerned since India Inc and outsourcing are the two issues that affect the upwardly-mobile, but culturally-declining, Indian.

8216;8216;After the Maharashtra polls, there is an impression that Bush would be edging Kerry out,8217;8217; Mukul opined.

8216;8216;For heaven8217;s sake, what has Maharashtra got to do with it?8217;8217; I asked.

8216;8216;Now, you see, BJP leaders like Mahajan and others have more time,8217;8217; replied Mukul. 8216;8216;Did you know that several top BJP leaders are already campaigning for Bush. There are requests for Uma Bharati and Sushma Swaraj, if insiders are to be believed. Thackeray, it appears, has declined because security does not allow him to travel beyond his house.8217;8217;

8216;8216;How could Bush consult the BJP,8217;8217; I asked. 8216;8216;Doesn8217;t he know that the BJP has lost the general elections and the Maharashtra Assembly polls?8217;8217;

8216;8216;This is the best part of Bush, he honours commitments,8217;8217; replied Mukul. 8216;8216;Apparently, the CIA was convinced that just as there are WMDs in Iraq, the BJP would return to power in the general elections. So it had accepted BJP8217;s offer of help to run his campaign.8217;8217;

8216;8216;But since the opposite has happened, one would have expected him to change course and take the help of the Congress,8217;8217; I suggested.

8216;8216;Bush does not believe in flip-flop,8217;8217; was the reply. 8216;8216;If any of his policies are flops, so be it. He wants to look consistent, act consistent; he does not let facts come in the way!8217;8217;

8216;8216;I only hope Bush knows what he is doing,8217;8217; I pointed out.

8216;8216;He never knows what he is doing, except that what he does is always right,8217;8217; said Mukul emphatically.

8216;8216;Will the BJP8217;s international image be affected if Bush loses?8217;8217; I wondered.

8216;8216;No,8217;8217; explained Mukul, 8216;8216;the BJP had already signed up with Tony Blair to help him in his elections8230; The BJP is totally in sync with Bush.8217;8217;

8216;8216;But Bush is like a stuck record on Iraq,8217;8217; I interrupted.

8216;8216;If that8217;s the case,8217;8217; reasoned Mukul, 8216;8216;how do you expect BJP president L K Advani to change his oft-repeated chant of building a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, even after the party8217;s poor performance in the polls.8217;8217;