Now that polling is in its fifth and final phase, the BJP has set itself the task of preparing for a sixth phase, one that will happen after the polls.
Now that polling is in its fifth and final phase, the BJP has set itself the task of preparing for a sixth phase, one that will happen after the polls, and one that involves getting more partners to its side.
The BJP wants to appear attractive and potent so that it is able to win over new partners and form a government at the Centre. BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the new phase will see an ad campaign by the NDA. The advertisements are intended to build up an atmosphere in favour of the BJP-led coalition, projecting it as a cohesive, united and strong front against a disintegrated and despondent UPA.
The party is upbeat about its success in getting the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) to participate in the NDA 'show of strength' rally at Ludhiana, and expects this would help generate a favourable mood for getting other parties to its side. Senior leaders hope this movement would gain momentum after May 16 and former allies that had drifted away after the 2004 debacle would come back to NDA as that would be the only option for them.
The focus is on poaching parties from the third front. While the campaign will project NDA as the most attractive partner to share power with at the Centre, it will paint the Congress led-formation as loose and fragmented. "It is not in the Congress' DNA to run a coalition," said Prasad.
In contrast to the Congress, BJP leaders have been assiduously avoiding any comment about their allies or parties that are not part of the NDA fold. The BJP has kept its barbs and attacks limited to the main rival Congress and the Left, none of whom would come to its side. For all others, it is keeping its options open and had assigned leaders to engage them in talks. "Who knows whose support we may have to take tomorrow," said a senior BJP leader.
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