BJP tries to put up a brave face

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, gave the game away when he repeatedly mopped his face with a handkerchief and quipped that he knew how his gesture would be portrayed by the media.

Despite the wit and banter, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) couldn't hide its sense of disappointment and nervousness at the debacle of Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh.

During his briefing at the BJP headquarters, Naqvi repeatedly said that come hell or high water, the party's allies will not desert it. This indicated that it was not just the Congress that expected poaching. The BJP, too, was not confident of some of its own allies.

Naqvi also emphasised that Atal Bihari Vajpayee will definitely continue as the Prime Minister of India. "There is no question of any other name being thrown up or even being thought," said he.

Interestingly there were some remarks credited to the Prime Minister stating that he would rather sit in the opposition, than attempt to form a government if the NDA tally was below 250. By evening, however, the Prime Minister's Office had clarified that such remarks were "highly speculative".

The Party President, Venakiah Naidu, tried to exude confidence as he came out after meeting the Prime Minister and other senior leaders including LK Advani and Jaswant Singh. Naidu admitted that the Andhra Pradesh result was a setback but added that it was just one assembly election. Attempts to extrapolate that on the Lok Sabha would be a mistake, he said.

At his briefing Naqvi maintained that the NDA will bag 300 seats. He asserted that it would return to power but did not mentioned any figure.

The BJP's central party office, however, wore an air of apprehension and worry.