BJP leaders were jubilant yesterday at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) deciding to withdraw its ministers from the United Front (UF) government, although the news surprised many party leaders, including former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
Vajpayee reportedly said the DMK developments had caught him unawares.
However, the party adopted a wait and watch approach. Their main concern was to ensure that the DMKs expected parting of ways from the United Front should be final so that the BJP could think in terms of negotiating with the party for future cooperation.
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BJP general secretaries are meeting today to discuss the political situation and to assess party president LK Advanis Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra that culminates here today.
The possibility of future political partnership between the BJP and the DMK could emanate from the BJPs week-long statewide demonstrations in Tamil Nadu from today to protest against the Indian Bank scam. The DMK has pledged support to the BJP programme, general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu claimed.
Some TMC leaders are alleged to be involved in the Indian Bank scam.
BJP vice-president KL Sharma refused to comment on the impact of the DMKs action on the BJPs fortunes. The DMKs action could just be a pressure tactic to force something on the United Front, he said.
This has happened earlier with the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), when it had refused to join the IK Gujral government but joined at a later date, he pointed out. The DMKs withdrawal could be the result of confusion among the Front partners over the central governments approach towards them, he said.