Although there is pressure from the middle and lower-rung leaders to oust the AIADMK from the BJP-led coalition, senior BJP leaders have apparently decided not to do so, till there was no other option.
Some senior party leaders, instead, hold that a situation be created, whereby, AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha leaves the coalition on her own. These leaders are reportedly worried that Jaya-lalitha's ouster might garner public sympathy for her in Tamil Nadu. There was also a possibility that the MDMK, the PRDK and the TRC, which are partners of the AIADMK-led alliance might make common cause with Jayalalitha in the case of ouster, a senior party leader said.
Some members of the national executive, which began a three-day meet from today, admitted that the AIADMK's public criticism of the government and bribery charges against the prime minister's office (PMO) h;ad damaged the government's reputation. They, however, described the situation as `war of nerves' and `test of patience'.
More From This Section
The executive is, thus, likely to urge the party rank and file to exercise restraint for some more time. The party has already tactically withdrawn from the crisis and left the issue to the government. BJP president Kushabhau Ltahakre described the situation as "the apparent lack of the spirit of accommodation among some of our allies." He pointed out that each of the parties in the BJP-led coalition was a partner of the government.
Party spokesperson KL Sharma disagreed that the alliance between the BJP and the AIADMK was "untidy".
This was because the two had agreed to a common minimum programme - the national agenda for governance - and the two and other BJP's allies also had trust on Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership. Sharma ruled out a categorical statement on Jayalalitha's charges against the PMO.
He said he hoped that the crisis would be resolved and added that, "we consider every ally an asset to the government."
"Unless there is some qualitative change in the AIADMK's decision, there is every scope that the issue will be sorted out," he added. The AIADMK had not withdrawn its support, he pointed out.