BJP to seek Fernandes' input on polls

In a tactical move to push the agenda of early Lok Sabha polls forward, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief M Venkaiah Naidu will meet National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convener and Defence Minister George Fernandes today.

Naidu said he would meet Fernandes to seek views of NDA partners on the scheduling of the polls. But Naidu said he was getting suggestions from the BJP sympathisers all over the country to advance the polls to take maximum political advantage.

"The final decision will be taken after consultation with the allies," he said.

Naidu's meeting with Fernandes is being seen as a first formal move by the Bharatiya Janata Party president to evolve a consensus within the National Democratic Alliance on early polls.

Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani is learnt to have discussed the poll agenda with the NDA partners who have agreed to early polls.

The Naidu-Fernandes meeting would provide crucial inputs to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who is expected to discuss the issue in the Cabinet after his return from Islamabad.

The Prime Minister is in Pakistan to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) summit.

The BJP leadership is cautious while talking about the polls, a decision which requires Vajpayee's approval.

Today, Naidu facilitated merger of the Soshit Kranti Dal (SKD), a small regional party of Bihar, with the party to send across the message that the BJP was keen to expand its support base. The SKD is headed by Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Nagmani.

According to Bharatiya Janata Party sources, the merger of the SKD indicates the party's attempt to consolidate its base in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Nagmani is a Koeri, a dominant OBC caste, in Bihar. With Nagmani joining the BJP, the party would be able to make in-roads into the support base of Laloo Prasad Yadav.

Naidu also made a passionate appeal to Muslims to join the BJP and discard the apprehension about the party.

Referring to the Congress' record in governance, Naidu said the minority community had been used by the Congress for political gains.

Similarly, the BJP is keen to co-opt Kalyan Singh's Rashtriya Kranti Party (RKP) to check the possible split in the BJP vote bank.

Despite Singh's strong support base among Lodha Rajputs, a caste influential in parts of western UP, the BJP does not want to be seen welcoming Singh back with an open arm.

Any attempt to take back Singh with much fanfare would send across a wrong signal to party cadres, sources said.

The BJP's scepticism about Singh's inclusion in the party, reflected in Naidu's reaction to a query on the possibility of Singh joining the BJP, when he said there was no proposal either from the BJP or from Singh.

To make it further complicated, UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and his lieutenant Amar Singh called on Singh to congratulate him on his birth anniversary.

Yadav is keen to pre-empt any Bharatiya Janata Party move to induct Singh into the party as it would hurt the Samajwadi Party's pro-Other Backward Classes image.

The attempt to strike a pact with the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is also being seen as a move to expand the NDA's support base in Maharashtra.

But as the BJP cannot afford to turn the Shiv Sena hostile, it is exercising caution before making a formal move for an alliance with Pawar. Pawar has also kept his options open for the alliance with the Congress.