The BJP has shared a love-hate relationship with Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Prakash Chautala They have been allies and bitter enemies in the past, but now, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has forged an alliance with the INLD again. Chautala speaks to PRADEEP KAUSHAL about his return to the NDA fold.

•You were a leading light of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA). How do you explain this shift?

At one stage, I thought that the UNPA was a viable alternative. However, it collapsed the moment Mulayam Singh Yadav, who led the biggest constituent, decided to support the Congress. His exit was followed by the appearance of Mayawati and the Left parties on the scene. When Mayawati started announcing the names of her candidates unilaterally, there was naturally no UNPA left. We have our own compulsions — we can never join hands with Congress. We have to go with the NDA to defeat the Congress. We will not make any slip and let the Congress return to power.

•But didn’t you and the BJP have a bitter parting of ways in 2004?

Let me remind you that we had extended our unconditional support to Atal Bihari Vajpayee after the 1998 Lok Sabha polls. We never demanded any ministerial berth or a special package in return. In Haryana, BJP MLAs wanted to join my Government, but the party’s central leadership decided otherwise. It is possible that state BJP people felt alienated because they were not part of the state Government. On the other hand, the BJP, elated over its success in Assembly polls in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, did not even consult us before dissolving the Lok Sabha.

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