PM's pep-talk leaves MPs guessing

Translate buoyancy to electoral advantage: Advani

Administering a dose of pep-talk to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members of Parliament, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said at the BJP parliamentary party meeting here today the party would romp home in the next elections if the people's changing mind-set was any indication.

On persistent questions by MPs about the timing of the polls, Vajpayee did not commit himself but made it clear that the party would win hands down""on that count there should be no uncertainty.

He indicated that the timing of the general election would be decided by party chief M Venkaiah Naidu and Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani. MPs interpreted this that the timing issue was a flexible one.

Referring to the party's spectacular performance in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, Vajpayee said it was an index of people's affection for the BJP.

Vajpayee's call to MPs to be prepared for the polls for the second time in this session is being seen within the BJP as a wake-up call for the party organisation.

The Prime Minister also referred to his impending visit to Islamabad to attend the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (Saarc) summit but made it clear that the government had not diluted its stance on insisting Islamabad to dismantle the terrorism infrastructure in Pakistan.

He said though he would be making an effort to improve economic ties with the neighbour, there was still uncertainty about his meeting with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf.

Addressing the MPs, Advani referred to the feel good factor, which accompanied the winter session of Parliament.

He said with the onset of the parliamentary session, the BJP registered a historic victory in three Assembly elections and the trend would continue in the Lok Sabha.

Advani said negotiations with Naga and Bodo insurgents had bore fruits and brought peace in the North-eastern states.

Referring to the offensive launched by the Bhutan government against Assam insurgents""Ulfa and KLO""Advani said the development on the Northeast front was positive. He said the legislation banning defection was a step in the right direction.

Advani asked the MPs to translate this "buoyancy" because of the prevailing "feel good" factor in the country into the BJP's electoral advantage.

Going a step ahead, the BJP president said the party must focus on getting over 300 seats in the next Lok Sabha elections.

"We have to score this in 250 days," he said, ostensibly to dismiss speculation about early polls and retain the element of surprise.

BJP spokesman VK Malhotra said going by Naidu's statement, the polls would be held as per schedule in September-October.

But a section of senior BJP leaders including Union ministers maintain that they had been given specific instruction by the party leadership to be prepared for the early polls, which might take place in end-May.

That there is an urgency in the BJP to take advantage of the prevailing pro-Vajpayee mood of the electorate is evident by the manner in which the party has asked MPs to launch mass-contact programme and make people aware of the government's performance.

A section of party leaders feels that it will be politically imprudent to lay its cards bare and announce an early polls at a time when Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections is likely to make a significant impact on the future of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). As it is, the NDA has suffered in Tamil Nadu following exit of the DMK and the MDMK is likely to follow the suit.