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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
PANAJI, Jan 7: Buoyed by its performance in last year's Lok Sabha election, where it led in 17 of the 40 Assembly segments, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to go it alone in the Assembly elections scheduled for the year-end.
The decision was taken at the BJP's national executive committee meeting in Bangalore recently, leader of its Legislative Party in the Goa Assembly Shripad Naik told the press here.
Party sources say the BJP's gameplan is to pin the blame for Goa's financial crunch on the ruling Congress. In fact, BJP leaders are spreading the theory that Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro will recommend dissolution of the State Assembly before presentation of the Budget.
Though the BJP, with just four members in the House, managed to topple the Pratapsinh Rane Government last year, the Wilfred D'Souza Government formed with its support collapsed in November. The BJP had entered into seat adjustments with the regional Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in the last Assembly electionsthereby consolidating the Hindu vote-bank.
Naik, however, observed that the BJP's experience with coalition governments has been bitter, but added the party will take a final decision on pre-poll alliances with D'Souza's Goa Rajiv Congress and the MGP at the time of elections.
As part of its poll-eve exercise the BJP is organising a political camp in Goa later this month. Party heavyweights like Home Minister L K Advani, BJP president Kushabhau Thakre and general secretary Venkiah Naidu are slated to attend.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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