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BJP looks to Vajpayee again to pull it through

George Iype in New Delhi

Fearing a rout in the assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram next month, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to fall back on the clean image of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Vajpayee will be the party's leading campaigner even though he has had to take the flak for the rising prices of essential commodities.

Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani and Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi will assist him.

BJP president Shashikant 'Kushabhau' Thakre will not campaign actively because he is not seen as a charismatic leader who can lure the voters.

BJP vice-president Jana Krishnamurthy said the party's state units in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan had besieged the central office with requests that Vajpayee campaign in their states.

"Prime Minister Vajpayee will be our unique selling point in the elections because his record has been unblemished," Krishnamurthy told Rediff On The NeT.

He said the prime minister has been drawing huge crowds at public meetings everywhere in the country. "Our government at the Centre has done exceptionally well in the past six months. Therefore, the prime minister will take the lead in informing the electorate about its achievements," Krishnamurthy added.

While the BJP's central office gives the final touches to Vajpayee's campaign programme, strategists are preparing separate manifestos for the four states and listing the issues that can be used effectively.

In Madhya Pradesh, where the BJP hopes to wrest power from the Congress, the emphasis will be on the corruption charges against Chief Minister Digvijay Singh and other ministers and the atrocities on tribals and women.

Party managers believe the leadership has acted wisely in not projecting any chief ministerial candidate in Madhya Pradesh as factionalism and internal feuds are rife in the party's unit.

In Delhi, the BJP's election-eve gamble of axing Sahib Singh Verma and appointing Sushma Swaraj as chief minister is proving to be counter-productive as it has alienated the Jat voters.

The Delhi electorate is dissatisfied with the BJP state government because of rising crime, lack of civic amenities like electricity and water, and the spiralling prices of essential commodities.

Delhi has been a BJP stronghold for many years and to ensure that it remains so, the leadership has entrusted key party functionaries with the task of wooing various linguistic groups in the city. The prime minister is also expected to address a number of rallies.

In Rajasthan, where the leadership anticipates a major setback, the party has refused to change Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. "There is no need to effect a change of guard in Rajasthan as Shekhawat has done extremely well and he is the right choice to lead the party in a crucial election like this," said Krishnamurthy.

Despite the BJP leaders' brave claims that the price rise will be a non-issue, many believe the elections will be a referendum on the Vajpayee-led coalition government.

A source in the BJP said the major policy announcements last week to rev up the economy were part of "a desperate pre-election attempt to win votes for the party".

"We cannot afford to lose the state polls," he admitted. "Many of our allies at the Centre are waiting to sever their ties with the government if the BJP performs badly."

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