BJP Prez keeps early polls theory alive

Feedback on timing sought from state units

Without ruling out the possibility of advancing Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it was seeking feedback from its state units on "which month was suitable" for elections and asking the party cadre to be "ready" to win 300 seats if polls were held earlier.

"The government can take any decision. As of now, we have asked the party cadre to gear up for achieving the target of 300 seats in 250 days. If it (election) is advanced, the target can be, say, 125 days-300 seats," BJP chief M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad.

A meeting of the BJP national executive, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on January 11-12, will "decide on the timing of polls after taking feedback from state units on which month is suitable weatherwise," he said.

Asserting that no decision had been taken so far on advancing elections, he dropped hints that his party was leaving some room for such a possibility.

Evading a direct reply to a question whether he was ruling out the possibility of early Lok Sabha polls, he quipped, "I am not proposing that. Where is the question of opposing it."

Invoking cricketing jargon, Naidu said, "The party cadre should be prepared to achieve the target in, so to say, 125 balls as well".

Referring to the recent string of electoral victories in the Hindi belt, Naidu said a BJP wave was sweeping the nation and the mood in the party was upbeat.

"We have won the semi-finals by a huge margin and are entering finals with a clear advantage. Development and performance are going to be the focus of our campaign," the BJP president said.

He said the party national executive meet would give a final shape to an action plan for "Mission 2004" aimed at winning 300 seats on its own and a two-third majority for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

On Maharashtra developments, Naidu reiterated the party's demand for resignation of the state government, saying the "cosmetic exercise" (of Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal's resignation) was not enough.

"There are serious charges against ministers and officials for their involvement in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam and there are also charges of underworld connection. The government has to go," Naidu said.

He also demanded the Congress government in Karnataka come forward for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the "mother of all scams".