Dismissing any “major snag” in the southern states, BJP president Rajnath Singh on Monday said his party was considering all political options, including smaller alliances, in the region.
“We are open to all alliances. We’re working to strengthen those in next few months as our focus has now shifted to the general elections. We were so far looking from the point of the state elections, but now it has to seen in a pan-India context. As you see we’re having TDP and YSR Congress offering support, we will continue to seek alliances with any party which is against the UPA’s corrupt rule and poor governance,’’ Rajnath told Mail Today.
ALLIANCE
To a query about forging ties with parties from Tamil Nadu, he played down the speculation emerging over the possibility of an alliance with J. Jayalalithaa- led AIADMK “Media is reading too much into the recent reports. As I said, we’re open to alliances, so is the case with her… She has been with us earlier in the NDA. Nothing has been finalised yet. Forging alliances will be our first priority once we are done with tickets and booths management by February,’’ he said.
When his attention was drawn on whether the return of “ tainted” former Karnataka chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa would affect the BJP’s poll prospects, Rajnath insisted, “We’re not giving any constitutional post to him… he has left the party on his own and returning to his own party. The state unit is coordinating at that level and we believe in delegative leadership.’’
CLEAR VISION
The BJP president was clear in his ‘ Operation 272’ vision for bringing the party to power in 2014.
“The focus is on young and new voters, so we’re going for at least 40 per cent tickets to those in the age group of 25- 45 years. Also the candidate’s profile, the winability factor will also matter.
There won’t be any compromise on that and the party has clearly discussed in detail on this aspect in the last week meeting.” It is also learnt that a stern message has been given to leaders in Uttar Pradesh, where the party aims to corner the maximum seats in a single state. The Hindi heartland accounts for 80 Lok Sabha seats. Both Rajnath and BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi are said to have made it clear that “ no political lobbying” would be allowed for tickets in the state.
Source: Mail Today
