CAFE
COM:PORT
CHAT JOCKEYS
EVENTS

The Election Day Results Chat

Prem (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:56)

Mr Singh, welcome to the Rediff Chat. Has the Samajwadi Party formalised its stance, in the current situation? Decided which group it will support?

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:56)

I think we have politcally reached a critical juncture, though it was expected that people would give a clear mandate having experienced inatability druing the last 18 months. Surprisingly a clear cut mandate has not come out. Still, the mandate is more or less in favour of the BJP and its allies. But effort is going on to frustrate the political mandate given by the people. In fact, the non-BJP forces are trying to present the current mandate as the one against BJP. The question of anti-incumbency can be linked only to the ruling party since it was the United Front government under which the mid-term polls have taken place and since the poll results pushed the UF to a miserable third position one can conclude that the mandate is against the UF. If at all anybody is to share this verdict naturally it would be the Congress since the UF government survived with outside support of the Congress.

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress President (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:56)

Saisuresh: The Congress Parliamentary Party is yet to meet to elect its leader. Besides a meeting of the CWC is scheduled to be held on March 5 to take stock of the political situation. There is as such no proposal of the Congress leadership or Mr Pawar approaching the President as of today. The party has not made any formal claim keeping all options open.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:57)

I think the electorate have given a fractured judgement again and the non BJP parties are in a majority. It might be a little difficult for Shri Vajpayee to prove his majority on floor of Parliament. Though personally as far as the Samajwadi Party is concerned I don't mind sitting in the Opposition.

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:58)

Hello everybody. It is very nice to be with you. I am ready for your questions.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:59)

Prem: No we have not formalised any stand so far, but our stated postion is to oppose communal and divisive forces in any case.

Dr. Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Tue Mar 3 1998 23:59)

Now that UF leaders and the Congress party trying to present the poll outcome as an anti-BJP verdict shows how eager they are to capture power by hook or crook. In fact in 1989 when the Congress declined an invitation from the President to form the government in spite of the fact that it was the single largest party at that time it was solely on this moral ground that in that election the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi was voted out of power. Hence the then leadership felt that they had no moral right to form the government with the help of others. Unfortunately the Congress leaders today have forgotten the principles set by Rajiv Gandhi...

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:0)

The Congress can try to parley with other like-minded secular parties to form a coalition so as to give a stable government to the country.

Prem (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:1)

Mr Jakhar, could you name the "other like-minded secular parties"?

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:1)

Messrs Jakhar and Amar Singh, are you two getting together to keep the BJP out? Is it fair?

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:1)

It's anybody's guess about who would form the government. In an era of political lust and greed, and with practical politics of BJP as already adopted in UP, it is very difficult to see what is in store in Indian democracy.

Prem (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:2)

Dr Shettigar>> The reverse of that argument would be, the BJP and allies fought on the stability under Vajpayee as PM plank, which the majority of the country does not appear to have endorsed...???

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:3)

Mr Shettigar, the BSE reacted favourably to the BJP's victory. Is this because you guys plan to curb MNCs and help Indian manufacturers?

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:4)

Dr Shettigar: The question of mandate today to any party, it is not there. The people have left it to the parties elected today to act and to formulate such an alliance which will be in the best interests of the country and the progress of the people. So to say that the Congress is power-hungry is absolutely baseless. The facts otherwise show the BJP tried for 13 days for a government and failed. It is not we, but you who tried and miserably failed. It is not a crime to sit in the Opposition and losing or winning are just the two sides of the same coin. What is required is to work in whatever capacity and to serve the people.

Dr. Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:5)

Mr. Amar Singh: Since we have already got 251 and in the present House we require just 269 which means that only 18 more are required to have a majority on the floor of the House. Already there is a commitment by HLD, comprising of 4 MPs and from another 4 or 5 Independents which means we require we need just 9 or 10 more. Others comprise of almost 19 members from which I have counted only 9. Apart from that instead of doubting our capacity whether we will be able to prove our majority or not it si better for the UF to cross check how united they are. And whether their strength is intact. Interestingly when we tried to get extra 20 people call it horse-trading but what they have done -- coming together after being against each other amounts to elephant-trading!

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:5)

Prem: The election manifestos of other parties show their secular character and the people know about it. It is a very settled question.

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:6)

Mr Jakhar, you said that the Congress is in touch with "like minded secular" parties to form the next government; this must include the CPI-M? But what about like minded economic parties? H S Surjeet probably hates Manmohan as much as Advani? What will happen to reforms? Incidentally, do YOU support further reforms?

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:6)

Considering Mr Pawar's performance in Maharashtra and his capacity to cobble a political coalition, one should provide an oppotunity to him. But I can't say anything beyond this as I don't belong to his party. Matter may be settled either by newly elcted members or by the new important political address, number 10 Janpath.

Prem Panicker (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:7)

Mr Jakhar>> Yes, that is precisely what is puzzling me, I notice that even the BJP's manifesto speaks of secularism. Does it follow that your party is now talking to the BJP for support to form a government?

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:7)

Sanjay: It was only those who have gone under the stress know the agony of the baseless charges they faced. And the whole world knows how it all happened. Nobody will say I or Advaniji or Scindiaji took a bribe. It was so ridiculous even to think so. They have been really unreasonable.

Dr. Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:8)

Mr. Jakhar: In the last experiment you have already come together in the name of preventing the BJP and for some reason like the Jain Commission report you withdrew support to the UF government which ultimately forced the country to go for a mid-term election which cost the nation around Rs 4,500 crores directly besides the cost in terms of the GDP loss is roughly around Rs 12,000 crores. Now again if you come together you have to explain to the people why this tamasha had taken place in the first instance.

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:8)

Prem: The manifesto of the BJP still speaks of the same Mandir issue, the common civil code and Article 370 and so on. And how could it match with other secular parties' manifestos?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:10)

Mr Jakhar/Mr Sharma: If the BJP front with 251 seats does not have a mandate, how did P V Narasimha Rao, with fewer MPs in 1991, rule for five years? Can we talk about that?

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:10)

Dr Shettigar: Every day is not Sunday. And one learns that in the national interest now we have to work confidently to keep away fascist tendencies.

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:11)

Saisuresh: The mandate is fractured and it is for nobody. The people have left it to the parties to sort it out in the national interests.

Prem (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:12)

Dr Shettigar>> your comments on this putative alliance of all "secular parties", please?

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:12)

Dr Jagdish Shettigar: Brother..I am an ordinary ,person not a ideologue like you. So I am short of words to counter your flowery language. I would say that you should stop throwing stones at others because now you are also our colleague. Because you are also living in glass house like all of us. Please don't be selective in matter of morality more so when your esteemed leader the right honourable Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji has conceded in Bhubaneswar that enough is enough. No more morals please. We have gone by morals for the last 40 years and achieved nothing. Now let us rise to the occasion and be practical. Long live the BJP's practical politics and newly found opportunism.

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:12)

Mr Jakhar, your power hungry party withdrew support from the UF; how long will the UF continue to support your government? How stable is such a formation?

Dr. Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:14)

Amar Singh: The Congress has got hardly 166 members which means they require another 103 right now. Now the very fact that your recognising the capacity to "cobble" up those extra 103 obviously means you are in favour of horse-trading perhaps Amar Singh doesn't recognise wholesale horse-trading when he blames us for indulging in horse-trading to get just 18 members.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:15)

Monica: Darling it happens in films only. My humble advice is stop watching Amitabh Bachchan movies. Bad influence. By the way are you in your teens or you are a grown up lady?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:16)

Mr Shettigar: Considering the sorry state of India's economy, isn't it strange that no party -- including yours -- focused on this burning issue in the run-up to the election? Can you deny that whichever government comes to power, the first focus will have to be on the economy?

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:18)

Mr Amar Singh, given the SP poor performance in UP (just 20 seats), don't you think you should have allied with the other parties? What was the logic of the SP opposing the Janata Dal? After all, you are both part of the UF.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:18)

Dr Jagdish Shettigar: Brother, you are my guru. You taught me how hundreds of defectors including history sheeters and criminals can be lured to change their political morals and stand overnight just for the lure of office and couple of lakhs of rupees. So please don't talk. I am referring about UP and your new political don, Mr Kalyan Singh.

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:19)

Mr. Amar Singh: In all fairness one has to accept rules of the game played in democratic countries. Now that the BJP and the allies have emerged as the single largest group in all fairness we should be allowed to form the government and see whether we are capable of proving our majority. Instead of making a determined effort to frustrate the mandate of the people, fractured UF partners are advised to sit in the Opposition. In fact, I can remind you of the good example set by the Conservative party in UK, which allowed the Labour party to form the government in spite of the fact that the leader was a little short of majority. this happened about 15 to 20 years back. I think political parties in India should learn lessons from healthy conventions laid by the mother of parliaments...

Prem (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:21)

Mr Amar Singh>> Errrrr... just a thought. If all the gals are "darling" and all the guys are "brother", are you not adding incest to injury?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:22)

Amar Singh: Brother for men and darling/sweetheart for women:-) This is a socialite, not socialist.

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:25)

Sai: As per as the present economic reforms introduced by the Congress government in 1991 and which has been continued by the UF government we feel it needs to be modified and rationalised. Bcasue the policy packages initiated by Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram failed to take into consideration the socio-economic realities of the country. In fact these policy packages were introduced out of compulsion, i e when the government had to borrow from the IMF as there were shortages of foreign exchage reserves which were not sufficient even to meet import requirements even for 15 days. As far as internal liberalisation is concerned I would like to remind people that the BJP, even in its earlier form, the Jan Sangh, started demanding dismantling of regulatory mechanism as this created monopolies and created vested interests among selected business houses..

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:27)

Amberish: Thank you for your concern about my performance. Actually in the last assembly election, we accommodated 160 people from the Tiwari Congress, Bharatiya Kisan Kamgar Party of Ajit Singh, JD. Only one dozen MLAs could get elected out of these 160 and out of them many like my friend Jagdambika Pal, the last one day CM of UP, and Rajaram Pandey of the JD crossed floors to become ministers in the BJP-led government of Kalyan Singh. This time we did not want to be fooled. So we were very much concerned about winnability and reliability of each and every candidate. Our mantra was jeetua and tikau since my friend Deve Gowda and Ibrahim could not produce any jeetua or tikau we could not help them.

And my performance is not bad. We did not fight the BJP only. We fought a Congress vigorously led by Sonia Gandhi, the JD led by Deve Gowda, Ibrahim and Sharad Yadav, the BSP led by Kanshi Ram and Mayawati. Despite this we have doubled our tally compared to last time and we have proved that we are in a position to create a swing in favour of secular parties in Maharshtra and by the way I am not trying to be pompous by claiming this. Mr Bal Thackeray in his interview has already credited Mr Mulayam Singh and myself for his humble defeat in Maharashtra.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:28)

Saisuresh Sivaswamy: Brother, I am both. Any objection? A socialist can also be a socialite.

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:29)

In fact in 1991 when in our election manifesto we outlined detailed measures covering almost all segments of the economy, the Congress didn't have any policy packages in its election manifesto. The so-called economic reforms packages were announced just a couple of days prior to the visit of an IMF team to negotiate the loan. This clearly shows that the Congress didn't have conviction towards economic reforms but was forced to accepted the policy package suggested by the IMF.

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:29)

Mr Jakhar, Mr Amar Singh, Mr Shettigar: It is great to have all you three out here. Don't you think it is time to introduce stringent laws on corruption of public servants, especially politicians? Should not all politicians be made accountable on their sources of income? How do politicians ALWAYS become richer after winning a couple of elections? An MP's salary is very low.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:29)

Mr Shettigar: It looks as if you got my question wrong, so let me repeat. Considering the poor state of the economy, how come no party, including yours, really brought it into the forefront of the election campaign, considering that whichever government assumes office it will have to place the economy in the ICU.

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:31)

Amberish: We will sit together and sort out our differences regarding the economic issues and as it is said the democracy is the hard rock of granite surrounded by a host of conflicting ideas.

Balram Jakhar, MP, former Speaker Lok Sabha (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:32)

Thank you very much Rediff. It was a good experience.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:33)

Dr Shettigar: Brother, Why do you think that I am so high and mighty? Please do not overestimate me. I am not even an ideologue like you. If you have got numbers, then have faith in the system and honourable President of India. Your long cherished dream which keeps getting shattered every now and then -- 'Aab ki Bari Atal Bihari' -- might be fulfilled some time. Have you not heard the saying, 'Try and Try again until you succeed.'

Prem Panicker (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:33)

Thank you Mr Jakhar, hope to see you again on here.

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:33)

Sai: I would like to divide the problem into three categories. One, regarding the welfare of the people that should have been taken care of during the last 50 years. Unfortunately, we have to start from the beginning. I would like to express our determination to tackle problems such as shortage of drinking water, primary education, sanitation and health care. It is really pathetic that even after 50 years of independence, 40 per cent of the population is deprived of safe drinking water and that 50 per cent of the population is illiterate. Similarly health care has been totally ignored. Now we would like to give adequate attention to these problems as, in the long run, this would be an asset for the economy. In the second category comes certain socio-polical problems...

Amberish K Diwanji (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:34)

Thanks for the replies. Mr Jakhar, you say you will "SORT OUT" your differences. One reason for India's declining economy is the squabbling between coalition partners, with the CPI-M still seeking to go red. How will it be better this time?

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:35)

Amberish K Dewanji: Why politicians, Yaar! Everybody should be accountable for his source of income. Thank God, I come from industry. And before becoming a member of Parliament I had everything -- bungalow, car and other necessary ingredients required to lead a nice and comfortable life.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:37)

Agni: Why do you have a dirty mind? Monica is like a sister to me. And anyone younger or loveable can affectionately be called darling. What is your problem? The dirt is in your mind. And not in my heart.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:37)

Mr Amar Singh: With due respect, I have been rather amused to read your interchanging of the Samajwadi Party and yourself, but when you said Thackeray credited *you* and Mulayam with having snatched away victory from him, I was in splits of laughter. I watched Thackeray carefully, and I, or my colleagues, don't recall him having mentioned *you* by name. Yes, he did say the SP was to blame for his party's rout... What is this? Is it a case of self-projection, transmogrification of the soul that our ancient rishis were famous for? *Laughing*

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:38)

In the second category, I'll place infrastructural development, power and transport and telecommunication. For a positive business environment and for rural development, infrastructural development should get priority.

In the third category are policy-related measures. Though there has been delicensing here, as far as internal liberalisation measures are concerned, except in 14 areas, this has not percolated to the lowest levels. We would like to make the dismantling of the regulatory mechanism a reality. This, of course, requires administrative reforms, as changing the mindset of the bureaucracy is a prerequisite to effectively implement economic reforms.

Dr Jagdish Shettigar, BJP ideologue and expert on economic policies (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:40)

To offset the negative spin-off effect of economic reforms in the organised corporate sector in the form of reduced employment opportunities, simultaneous measures must be taken to promote the decentralised sector and the agricultural sector. If the economic reforms of the Congress government has alienated the common man, it is mainly because of these half-hearted measures, because these sectors were ignored... We will continue our discussion later.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:41)

Ash: Sister, I do not know about the Congress. But we protected the Babri Masjid. And, subsequently, when the Congress went for shila pujan at the disputed site, we protested very aggressively . And it is not Article 370 or the temple that is the issue. The issue is that we cannot divide society among Hindus and Muslims and we cannot allow the mandir and masjid to be a vehicle to do politics. That is the basic difference between us and the BJP. As far as the SP is concerned, secularism is not merely a slogan to grab power; it is a way of life for us. We can lay down our life for upholding Hindu-Muslim amity and brotherhood.

Prem Panicker (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:41)

Okay, yes, it's happening now -- Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Sitaram Yechuri, E K Nayanar, Jyoti Basu and other top CPI-M leaders, all are meeting to decide officially on their stand regarding the present situation.

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress president (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:43)

Sorry for the interruption, guys. Mr Balram Jakhar rushed into the Rediff station and I had to make way for my senior leader. I am back again.

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress president (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:44)

The Congress is taking stock of the situation and is also exploring all possibilities for the formation of a secular, democratic government.

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress president (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:44)

There is no question of over-confidence. We are conscious of the electoral arithmetic and the constraints. However, the fact remains that leaders of both the UF and the LF have jointly expressed a wish to go along with the Congress to form a non-BJP government. This formation, if it is put together, has not only more seats but also a bigger mandate.

Prem Panicker (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:45)

Mr Sharma, perhaps you could do what your senior leader couldn't, or wouldn't -- name the "secular parties" the Congress will be seeking support from?

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress president (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:46)

We are not going to discuss the individual constituents of the UF. There has been much change in the situation since the interim report of the Jain Commission. A special court in Madras has already sentenced the accused and the conspirators. In any case, the Congress had not accused the DMK directly but wanted the doubts raised in the Commission's report to be clarified. And in the interim period the DMK could have stayed out of the government. That position does not prevail any more.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:47)

Krishna: Point conceded. Besides being a leader, I am a young man of pure and clean heart, with no malice towards anyone, including princess and Monica. I respect them for their forthright and blunt approach. If they are offended, I don't have any problem in communicating a BIG SORRY TO THEM. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?
agni: YOU HAVE NOT HURT ME AT ALL. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO HURT ME BECAUSE I AM IN the SO-CALLED CESSPOOL OF POLITICS. I WANT YOU TO RECTIFY THE IMAGE OF A POLITICIAN BECAUSE, LIKE EVERY BUSINESSMEN IS NOT LIKE A BLACKMARKETER OR HOARDER, EVERY POLITICIAN IS NOT FILTHY, DIRTY AND LECHEROUS. AND ONE MORE THING: IN SPITE OF IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES, I RESPECT ATALJI IMMENSELY. THE BJP IS MY POLITICAL OPPONENT IDEOLOGICALLY, AND I DO NOT CONSIDER THE BJP OR ANY OTHER POLITCAL ADVERSARY MY ENEMY. THANK YOU. SEE YOU SOME OTHER TIME.

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress President (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:47)

This is all media speculation that one person is the preferred individual and the other is also angling for that position. It is expected of senior leaders to have ambitions to occupy the highest office. It is also true that Mr Pawar has emerged stronger after the spectacular showing in Maharashtra. But the party leader will be chosen by a consensus involving the newly-elected MPs.

Rediff@BJP HQ (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:48)

Here we have now with us Mr. Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, a special correspondent from Frontline magazine who can give a quick assessment of the current political situation as he sees it...

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:48)

May I request our esteemed guests to focus on the questions coming from the right side of the screen? They are from our chatters who have logged in for just an exchange of ideas.

Prem Panicker (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:48)

Mr Sharma>> Strange, you say the Congress did not accuse the DMK directly -- but Mr Kesri flat out called for the dropping of the DMK. What was indirect about that?

Anand Sharma, former Youth Congress president (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:48)

I have to rush for a meeting. I will be with you later. Bye Bye.

Wasim Ahmed, General Secretary Janata Dal, MP (upper house) (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:51)

To all Indians, my salutations to people who love India, who are concerned with what is happening here.

Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Special Correspondent, Frontline (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:51)

In the hopelessly hung Parliament the question as to whether any of the three major forces has a mandate to rule evokes no positive reply. It is in this context that the numbers game has become more important that anything else. Various permutations and combinations are being conceived in political party offices in Delhi. The point is that none of the three major forces -- the BJP, the Congress or the UF -- can work out a functional government without compromising on many of their professed ideological and political positions.

Amar Singh, General Secretary, Samajwadi Party (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:52)

SANJAY: People who are active always get brickbats. People tend to misunderstand them because of their high profile. Similar charges are traded against my friend Pramod Mahajan in BJP. But let me assure you, both of us are alike at least in one aspect -- controversies hound us unnecessarily, without any rhyme or reason. Goodbye.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:54)

Welcome to this chat, Mr Ahmed. Will you agree that the Samajwadi Party has now replaced your party as the sole spokesperson of the minorities (read Muslims), OBCs and, to an extent, the SC/STs?

Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Special Correspondent, Frontline (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:55)

The BJP fought the election primarily on two issues -- the so called "liberal face" of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, promoting the stability slogan, and a cautious yet significant promotion of its erstwhile Hindutva agenda at the grassroots. The idea was to capture new allies and voters with the first slogan and retain its traditional base with the second.

While doing this, the party fought against potential allies, the Telugu Desam, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam etc. In both Andhra Prdesh and Tamil Nadu, the BJP and its new-found allies cut into the vote bank and seat shares of the TDP and the DMK. It is this that militates against the BJP successfully wooing these two parties while working up the majority.

Wasim Ahmed, General Secretary Janata Dal, MP (upper house) (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:58)

The mandate is for a hung Parliament. Also, the mandate says that the secular parties should come together and form a government. And according to the numbers the BJP has achieved, it is still short of a majority. Also, the manifestos of the BJP's allies, the Samata Party, the Lok Shakti, the AIADMK and others, are very different from that the BJP. In fact, the Samata Party manifesto says that the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid issue, Article 370 and Article 356, and the Muslim Personal Law won't be touched if it is to be part of the government. So how can BJP say that it can form the government when it has no common minimum programme along with its allies.

Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Special Correspondent, Frontline (Wed Mar 4 1998 0:59)

Similarly, the Congress was the principal opponent of the UF forces, such as the CPI-M, TDP and the DMK, in almost all the south Indian states. An alliance between these forces and the Congress cannot be thought of without major compromises from both sides. As a matter of fact the problem is all the more serious for the UF. I will come back...

Rediff@BJP HQ (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:0)

We have here with us Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, prospective minister in the next Cabinet and the one who got the most surprising results from Tamil Nadu...

Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, BJP leader from Tamil Nadu (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:2)

Very simply put, the BJP alliance is the single largest group today. We will definitely have the majority to form the government, once the House is constituted.

Nikhil Lakshman (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:2)

Ranga: Good to speak with you again. As someone who had dealt with Ms J Jayalalitha, what are the demands you think she will make on your party leadership?

Saisuresh Sivaswamy (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:3)

May I request our esteemed hosts to focus more on the questions form the right side of the screen?

Rediff Team @ Congress HQ (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:3)

The mood here at 24, Akbar road continues to be dreary. Reporters who have been stationed here for the past three days also look tired. Some have also fallen asleep in the corridors. There are rumours that Kamal Nath should be here in the afternoon.

Nikhil Lakshman (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:4)

Ranga: The BJP leadership fears Dr Swamy will make unreasonable demands... How do you think Dr Swamy is going to be a problem for your party?

Wasim Ahmed, General Secretary Janata Dal, MP (upper house) (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:4)

Saisuresh Swamy: The JD played an historical role in Indian politics. And under the leadership of V P Singh, the social justice movement aroused a feeling in the weaker sections of the society -- including OBCs, backwards, dalits, minorties and poor section of upper classes -- that they shared power. The JD has weakened because of inner contradictions and, if you recall, our party has split five times since 1990. Also, let me remind you that our philosophy on Mandal has been hijacked by all parties, including the BJP. And today the Mulayam Singh has grown on the policies of the JD. I am sure you will agree on this.

Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, BJP leader from Tamil Nadu (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:5)

I had no problems about my absorption in the BJP, as I have always believed that service to the people is the basic principle of politics. And the BJP, RSS and the Parivar have served the people for a long time and they continue to do so. With regards to government-formation, without spelling out the exact details as it would be too early to do so, I would like to say that we will have a majority to form the government.

Nikhil Lakshman (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:5)

Mr Ahmed: Why should the BJP be denied a chance to form a government? After all, with 250 MPs, it has more MPs than what P V Narasimha Rao had in 1991.

Nikhil Lakshman (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:7)

Mr Ahmed: Rajasaab says any anti-anything platform does not work in the long run. Don't you think, politically, it makes sense for the centrist Opposition to abandon its anti-BJPism. Let that party form a government and then collapse under the weight of its own contradictions?

Wasim Ahmed, General Secretary Janata Dal, MP (upper house) (Wed Mar 4 1998 1:7)

Today, the need of the hour is to fight communalism. The greatest threat to the country is from the RSS. The BJP has two faces, one is Atal Bihari's liberal face and the other is the manifesto of the BJP, which has been drafted by the RSS.