CHENNAI, Jan 3: The Bharatiya Janata party president L K Advani tonight expressed confidence that his party would make a dent in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu during the coming elections. Advani, who arrived here from Bombay enroute to Tirunelveli to take part in the AIADMK's silver jubilee conference, was responding to queries from media persons at the Chennai airport here.Asked whether the electoral tie-up with AIADMK was an attempt to gain foothold in Tamil Nadu, he pointed out that during the 1991 elections, his party made its electoral presence in Karnataka and to some extent in Andhra Pradesh. During the 1996 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, his party won a seat without the support of any other party in the state.
To a question if seat-sharing with the AIADMK had been firmed up, Advani said nothing had been concluded so far but it would be done in the next few days. (AIADMK general secretary Jayalalitha had today said in Tirunelveli that the seat-sharing talks would be held only after her return to
Chennai on January 4 and that no discussions in this regard would be held in Tirunelveli between her and Advani).
Meanwhile, Advani said that he will hold talks with Jayalalitha at Tirunelveli on seat-sharing for the coming Lok Sabha elections. He said, ``If time permits, I will definitely talk to Jayalalitha about the number of seats and the constituencies which the party wants. We are in regular touch with the AIADMK, he said, adding that the talks would be continued by the local leaders in case of lack of time today.
Asked about the possibility of an alliance with the newly-formed Trinamul Congress of Mamata Bannerjee in West Bengal, Advani said the negotiations were still on. We have not foreclosed the doors, he added.
Advani categorically said that his party is, in principle, in favour of a coalition government at the Centre with its electoral allies. He said the modalities, however, could be decided only in the post-poll scenario.Asked about AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha's assertion that
her party would stake its claim to be part of a BJP-led government at the Centre, he said, "We are not against it." Advani, however, ruled out coming out with a common manifesto for the BJP-led front. Expressing immense confidence that the BJP would secure an absolute majority on its own, Advani said depending on the post-election developments there could be a coalition government.
Asked about the reported stand taken by the Left parties that they would extend tacit support to the Congress wherever the latter had a better chance of fighting the BJP, Advani observed there was nothing new in their extending support. When there was an attempt to liquidate democracy in the country during emergency, the two left parties supported it, the CPI openly and the CPM passively.
Replying to a question on Sonia Gandhi's decision to campaign for the Congress and the impact it would have on the outcome of the elections, Advani dismissed it with a flourish saying that it is not not worth commenting upon .
Asked
whether he had decided on the choice of his constituency, he said he had already expressed his willingness to contest the coming polls. It was for the party to decide whether he should contest and from which constituency, he added.Replying to another question, Advani said the response to his party had been overwhelming so far wherever he or former prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee Had gone. Advani said the BJP had gone in for alliances with regional parties including the Akali Dal and the AIADMK with a view to bridge the artificially-created social and geographical divides against the BJP.
We have now obliterated the allegation that the BJP is a North-Indian party by aligning with the AIADMK and bridged the divide between the Sikhs and the Hindus by retaining our alliance with the Akali Dal in Punjab and Delhi, he added.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
