The BJP appears to be rattled at the prospect of the Congress, the Left Parties and some other constituents of the United Front getting together to form a political axis in the aftermath of the UF rally in Andhra Pradesh. The BJP fears that its alliance with a large number of regional parties could be defeated if this kind of bipolar polity emerges.
This concern was evident in the defensive arguments that BJP general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu presented yesterday for the Telugu Desams support to the government. He attacked the Left parties for criticising the TDP at the rally in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Naidu charged that the Left and the United Front in general had a dubious and a hidden agenda to join hands with the Congress and asked these parties to publicly state their intentions. He refused to say what these were but added that the people would teach a lesson to anyone trying to play foul. They will incur the wrath of the people.
The BJPs leaders are aware that their ability to win elections is still limited in large parts of the country and the party got a near majority in the recent general elections largely because of its web of alliances and the fact that it faced a split opposition. If the opposition parties were to come together now, the ground situation could change radically as it did against the Congress in 1977 and in 1989.
This prospect was discussed during the BJPs recent national council meeting in Gandhinagar. Pertinently, the political resolution passed at the session asked the partys cadres to be aware of the Congress and the Left.
Many senior BJP leaders not only fear that such a political axis could weaken them considerably during subsequent elections, they acknowledge that it could also lead to the fall of the Vajpayee government during the life of this House.
How dare you criticise the TDPs support to the BJP, Naidu said, referring to the Left parties. He argued that it was not Naidu but the Left parties and the United Front that had to apologise to the people for trying to support the Congress which they had opposed in the general elections.
With what moral authority were they trying to align with the Congress now, he asked. Naidu claimed in the same breath that there was no threat to the Vajpayee government from the Left parties move to align with the Congress. We have enough support in the Lok Sabha and enormous goodwill of the people, he added.
