BJP, Cong prepare for final round

MANDATE 2004/ Saffron party to focus on western Uttar Pradesh

The exit poll projections for the third phase of elections seem to have revived the spirits of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Party President Venkaiah Naidu thanked pollsters for the unfavourable projections made after the second phase of polling on April 26.

"We don't believe in exit polls, but the way the non-NDA (National Democratic Alliance) parties are vying for the Prime Minister's chair shows there is no alternative to the NDA government," he said.

The Congress has also dismissed the exit poll results as unscientific. At a party strategy committee meeting yesterday, Congress General Secretary Jaipal Reddy said, "Exit polls are unscientific. We are absolutely confident that there will be a Congress-led secular government at the Centre."

The Congress has decided to grade constituencies, which will go to polls on May 10. An 'A' category constituency is one in which the party's chances of winning are the brightest, 'B' signifies a lesser chance of winning, and 'C' is reserved for seats the party has given up on. For the last phase of elections, the party will schedule election campaigns on the basis of these gradations. Party President Sonia Gandhi has been booked for the first two categories.

The arrangement, incidentally, is a consequence of the exit poll results for the last two phases.

The BJP strategy meeting at Naidu's residence was attended by party leaders Yashwant Sinha, Sushma Swaraj, Bala Apte, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Sanjay Joshi.

According to sources within the party, the BJP is going to concentrate the party's strength in the seats in western Uttar Pradesh that are yet to go to polls and 10 seats in Haryana, leaving the allies to fight the battle in other states.

"Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is a former Rampur MP, will be sent to the Sambhal constituency in western Uttar Pradesh and Rampur to help in the campaigning," said a senior BJP strategist.

The contest in Sambhal is between Samajwadi Party candidate and Mulayam Singh Yadav's brother Ram Gopal Yadav, Ashok Yadav of the Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party's Tarannum Aqeel and BJP's Om Vir Singh Kharakvanshi. "Hopefully, the Yadav and Muslim votes will get divided there, leaving the BJP in a good position," the party strategist added.

Rajendra Sharma, the BJP's contestant from Rampur, is facing two high-profile women in Begum Noor Bano of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party's Jayaprada. "Naqvi will add weight to the BJP campaign there," said a senior leader.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is solely depending on Chief Minister Uma Bharti's appeal. While in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab it is relying on its allies.

Naidu left today for Hayana. He is scheduled to campaign in West Bengal, Chennai and Tirupati.

Reacting to Pramod Mahajan's statement in Lucknow yesterday that the party had started talks with other non-NDA parties for post-poll alliances, the BJP president said no one was untouchable for the BJP.

"If people want to join us, who are we to say no," he added.