NEW DELHI, 26 April 2004 — Despite exit polls predicting a hung Parliament, making Atal Behari Vajpayee’s return as the prime minister for the fourth time tougher than earlier calculated, the premier is not a worried man. During an interview to a news agency, he said he has “no cause for worry.”
That he was counting on the possibility of these polls proving to be wrong was reflected in his saying that these were just an “indicator” and sometimes they go topsy turvy.
On the Congress party apparently “buoyed” by the latest election trends, the premier laughed and said: “Why is the Congress so much happy that now we have to be worried?”
Interestingly, while Vajpayee held the prime minister’s post for less than a month from May 16 to June 1, 1996, for around a year from March 19, 1998 to April 1999 and completed the term from 1999 to the present, the big question looming now is what would be the strength and term of his coalition government, if NDA returns to power.
“As per our expectations,” Vajpayee said, “we are confident that we will get a majority.”
When asked whether the NDA would succeed as it did in the 1999 elections, he replied: “We are hoping.”
Regarding BJP’s target of securing 300 seats on its own, he said: “That is our target. If we get, it will be good.”
To a question whether the BJP was considering any new strategy to attract backward classes and Muslims, he said: “Our strategy will be to get people out of homes to vote.”
When asked whether the BJP expected a favorable response from Muslims this time, Vajpayee said: “The community is still thinking. It has not decided. But the situation is also not that Muslims are against us and will not shake hands with us. This attitude is changing.”
Vajpayee, whose health has often been the subject of media speculation, said no decision has been made on his potential successor.
“In a democracy there is no question of succession. When the time comes the party will decide,” Vajpayee said.
Hard-line Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, 76, is widely seen as Vajpayee’s successor and hinted yesterday he considered himself the heir apparent.
Advani said there was no need to “name” the prime minister’s successor. “After all if I am his deputy, it has to mean something,” Advani told the Hindi-language news network Aaj Tak.
The BJP won 183 seats in the last election in 1999, meeting the magic number of 272 MPs needed for a majority through alliances with some two dozen parties.
Vajpayee, whose government launched breakthrough talks with moderate Kashmiri separatists, said the time was not right to negotiate with other groups in the restive Himalayan region.
Vajpayee said talks would only take place with the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, the main separatist alliance, whose hard-liners broke away last year.
Asked if the government was considering inviting more groups to the table, Vajpayee said: “That stage has not come. We will have to talk to Hurriyat.”
In the past, New Delhi has announced its readiness to hold talks with any group in Kashmir which gave up violence.
The Press Trust of India, quoting unidentified officials, said the government would soon release four Hurriyat members jailed under anti-terrorism laws.
Advani has held two rounds of talks with the moderate faction of the Hurriyat since January and another round is scheduled in June. Advani has reported progress in reaching a “process” to solve the dispute, but hard-liners in Kashmir have criticized Hurriyat leaders for sitting down with the government.
Vajpayee said Kashmiris were going to vote despite a rise in violence by rebels who believe the election would give legitimacy to Indian rule in the territory.
“Our reports are good. People are enthusiastic and coming to vote despite violence and braving threats,” Vajpayee said.
Indian election officials have said that 37 percent of voters turned out Tuesday in the first of four rounds of voting in Kashmir for Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad is proceeding with its agenda of securing commitment for construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
The VHP claims to have secured signatures from 155 members of the dissolved Lok Sabha in support of its 11-point Hindu agenda.
These include 141 of BJP’s 182 members, seven of BJD’s 10 and five of Shiv Sena’s 15, sources associated with VHP claimed.
Against this drive being promoted by BJP’s rightwing associates, it is not surprising that Indian Muslims have decided not to be influenced by a Muslim cleric’s call to support BJP.
Today’s third round of polling will decide the fates of opposition leader Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul — the latest member of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to enter politics — in neighboring constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, a state whose size, history and population have made it a political heavyweight in Indian elections.
Pre-election surveys put the BJP-led coalition comfortably ahead, but exit polls since voting began Tuesday have shown the main opposition Congress party closing the gap. The Congress has been out of power since 1996, as the BJP rose to prominence on a platform of “Hindu pride.”
The BJP, however, is seeking a new five-year term by highlighting strong economic growth and the personal popularity of the 79-year-old prime minister who has spearheaded detente with Pakistan.
