A Tamil proverb refers to the pot breaking when the butter is being formed. At a time when the nation is well tuned to a change of the government, the Janata Dal (United), JD (U) is raising issues on its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that can wait for the election to be over. During a debate in Parliament, Manmohan Singh sarcastically said Advani would have to wait till 2014 to become the prime minister, thus indirectly admitting the BJP's victory. The BJP has announced Narendra Modi as the head of its election panel, not as its prime ministerial candidate. It will be helpful if the BJP says the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will decide the prime minister after the election, if it comes to power. Victory at the polls and a chance to form the government may change attitudes, including the possibility of the JD (U) supporting an NDA government from outside without insisting on it being included therein. The JD (U) on its part should stop its campaign against Modi, and only say it does not want Modi to campaign in Bihar. The abusive campaign against Modi may be left to Congress spokespersons. All the epithets used to describe Modi, viz, "maut ka saudagar", "Yama riding on buffalo" and "Bhasmasur", helped the BJP garner votes in Gujarat. The three constituencies in Punjab, where Singh campaigned in 2009, saw the defeat of the Congress. In the last Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, only three out of 10 Assembly segments in the Parliamentary constituencies of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi voted for the Congress. The BJP should appeal to the Congress to deploy Singh, Sonia, Rahul, Jairam Ramesh, Digvijaya Singh, Manish Tewari and perhaps Mani Shankar Aiyar all over India in its election campaign. It will be a sure recipe for the success of the BJP.
A Seshan Mumbai
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