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BJP under pressure over seat-sharing

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The suspense is palpable, unbearably so. The decision of the leaders would make or break political destinies. But for once, 11 Ashoka Road -- the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party -- is guarded like a fortress with whistle-blowing cops shooing away curious bystanders and frantically waving cars to drive away.

The BJP leadership is meeting to decide the 'quota' of seats to be allotted to its allies in the National Democratic Alliance contesting the assembly polls in Bihar, Orissa, Haryana and Manipur. Already, the saffron party has made known its resolve to fight at least 50 per cent of the 324 assembly seats in Bihar leaving a tantalising trail of mystery and suspense among the other two major contenders, the Samata Party and the Janata Dal-United.

"The pressure on us is like a bursting dam which just cannot be contained but we are trying our best," said a senior BJP vice-president who took a few moments off from the hectic party meeting today to come out to talk to a handful of reporters. "All the top NDA leaders have deluged us with personal requests and phone calls to accommodate this or that candidate. But with due respect to them there has to be a limit, I for one am quite cheesed off," he said wrinkling his nose in distaste.

He indicated that this was why the BJP could not decide how many seats it was leaving to its NDA allies, especially in Bihar which has turned out to be a bone of contention.

"The BJP, the Samata and the JD-U want the maximum number of seats for themselves. While our position is clear (that the BJP will contest 50 per cent of the seats in Bihar), we are having problems about the quota of the other two major contenders, our allies in the NDA," the BJP vice-president pointed out.

The ongoing party meeting was quite stormy, he emphasised, adding that "running consultations" with the leadership of the Samata Party and the JD-U were going on.

At this juncture, three white Ambassador cars with sirens blaring and red lights flashing screech into Ashoka Road and head at breakneck speed towards the BJP headquarters. The tortured squeal of brakes follows and the cars disappear inside. "It's Advaniji, it's Advaniji," yelled an excited BJP worker. "You can see important things are going on inside."

What he does not say is that, as pointed out by another BJP worker, Advani had reportedly gone to fetch an NDA leader whose party has considerable stakes in the polls in Bihar. That cannot be confirmed because all the cars have dark tinted glasses and windscreen and it is impossible to have even a peek at who is in the cars.

Another car screeches in bringing in BJP general secretary K Govindacharya. He smiles and waves to the small group of reporters. The reporters ask him to describe the scene. He comes up with his now-famous stock reply, "Don't worry, our seat-sharing arrangements in Bihar will be to the satisfaction of everybody." Then he is gone as the burly cops close the gates shut.

The meeting at the BJP headquarters includes some leaders of the Samata Party and the JD-U. According to BJP sources, the saffron party's leadership has been insisting that the question of the projection of the Bihar chief minister should be settled after the polls.

However, both Samata Party chief George Fernandes and JD-U chief Sharad Yadav have been holding a series of meetings at their respective places in a bid to clinch for their parties the Bihar chief ministership.

Significantly, the BJP leadership has also had to deal with the various demands of its ''second rung'' of leaders wanting more say in the party affairs. "Apart from our allies, we have to ensure that our younger generation of leaders too have a sizeable role in the forthcoming polls," said party general secretary Narendra Modi. He did not elaborate.

The 'fortification' of the BJP headquarters today might have discouraged eager-faced ticket-seekers from thronging it. But the swelling crowd of party workers at 1B Maulana Azad Road -- the JD-U headquarters -- had sent a veiled warning to the BJP leadership.

"The durability of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government will be determined by the outcome of the polls not in Manipur, Haryana or even Orissa. Bihar is important because if Laloo Prasad Yadav (the RJD chief) has the last laugh with his party defeating the NDA, the BJP will have to take the rap. So it better to think twice before finalising the seat-sharing arrangements," said Anirudh Yadav, JD-U activist, voicing the feelings of his party colleagues.

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