‘We have to go with the NDA to defeat the Congress’

At one stage, I thought that the UNPA was a viable alternative. However, it collapsed the moment Mulayam Singh Yadav, who led the biggest constituent, decided to support the Congress. His exit was followed by the appearance of Mayawati and the Left parties on the scene. When Mayawati started announcing the names of her candidates unilaterally, there was naturally no UNPA left. We have our own compulsions — we can never join hands with Congress. We have to go with the NDA to defeat the Congress. We will not make any slip and let the Congress return to power.

•But didn’t you and the BJP have a bitter parting of ways in 2004?

Let me remind you that we had extended our unconditional support to Atal Bihari Vajpayee after the 1998 Lok Sabha polls. We never demanded any ministerial berth or a special package in return. In Haryana, BJP MLAs wanted to join my Government, but the party’s central leadership decided otherwise. It is possible that state BJP people felt alienated because they were not part of the state Government. On the other hand, the BJP, elated over its success in Assembly polls in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, did not even consult us before dissolving the Lok Sabha.

•A section of the Haryana BJP is said to be opposed to an alliance with you. How will you address this problem?

I believe in taking everybody along. I have no intention to carry baggage from the past. I learn from the past mistakes and then plan the future.

•There is a widespread perception that no non-Congress government can be formed in Haryana without BJP support. Do you also subscribe to this?

If two or three important parties come together, people somehow find that arrangement more credible. I had everything going in my favour in 1996, but I lost out because the BJP forged an alliance with Bansi Lal at the eleventh hour. But then, the same holds good at the Centre too. The greater the number of alliance partners, the greater the credibility of a coalition among people.

•Mayawati has made a promise to install a non-Jat chief minister in Haryana and the Haryana Janhit Congress is also trying to infuse this undercurrent in the state. Don’t you think it would undermine your prospects?

If anybody thinks he can succeed by spewing venom against one particular caste, he is mistaken. Just wait and watch. The people of Haryana will reject such divisive politics.

•When you talk of divisive politics, you must be aware of similar charges against the BJP on account of its commitment to Hindutva. Are you comfortable with the BJP ideology?

We have worked together in the past and we have not faced any problem (due to ideology). In politics, people tend to say anything to malign their opponents. Basically, you can trace a lot of rhetoric to a clash of political interests.