NEW DELHI, 7 February 2008 — India’s main Hindu nationalist opposition party has postponed about a dozen rallies over the next two months after the government warned of possible security threats, including a suicide attack, the party said.
L.K Advani, who last month was nominated as the prime ministerial candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had planned a string of rallies across India as the country gears up for a general election by early 2009.
“The government has conveyed to us that there is a credible intelligence input about a security threat to Advani,” BJP Vice President Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told Reuters late on Tuesday.
“We have deliberated on this issue and decided to postpone the rallies ... only the inaugural rally will be held as scheduled.” The party said it had no information about what group or groups might have been planning attacks.
India has been hit by frequent attacks in recent years and most have been blamed on Pakistan-based groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Many attacks are apparently aimed at dividing Hindus and Muslims in India.
The decision to call off the meetings could be a blow for the BJP. It had hoped the rallies would build on momentum gained after their election win in December in Gujarat state as well as the nomination of Advani as their main election candidate.
India is likely to hold a general election in 2009, or even earlier, that would pit the ruling Congress party and its allies against a BJP-led coalition.
