bjp-l-digest Thursday, February 12 1998 Volume 02 : Number 059
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News and Analysis Digest
Index:
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BJP debunks survey report
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Date: Feb. 12, 1998
Source: Asian Age
Author: Bishwanath Ghosh
Subject: BJP debunks polls, claims Sonia effect only marginal
New Delhi: Mrs Sonia Gandhi's campaign for Congress
will have a marginal impact in four states and will
not prevent the BJP from getting a majority on its
own, BJP general secretary K.N. Govindacharya said
on Wednesday.
The four states are Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The BJP, which has
a straight fight with the Congress in the first
three states, has intensified its campaign there to
prevent a possible shift of the women and dalit
votes following Mrs Gandhi's campaign.
The BJP has also stepped up its campaign in Bihar,
where the Congress threatens to cut into its votes
in the present situation. Mr Govindacharya said the
party had planned a whistle-stop tour for star
campaigner Shatrughan Sinha, who will urge people
not to vote for a "vote katwa party" (party which
can only cut into votes).
"Sonia's campaign might help only in
image-building. The Congress will not gain
politically or electorally. The BJP will cross the
273-mark on its own, and along with allies we will
get a huge majority. The work we have done at the
grassroots is not visible to the poll surveyors,"
Mr Govindacharya told reporters, disagreeing with
the recent opinion poll which gave BJP and its
allies 231 seats.
"We already have 22 per cent votes. Another seven
per cent will comes from the failures of the
Congress and the United Front, seven per cent
because of Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership and
five to six per cent on the strength of our allies.
This should give us 40 to 41 per cent of the
votes," Mr Govindacharya said.
More than Mrs Sonia Gandhi, it is the opinion polls
which appear to be rattling the BJP by saying that
her campaign has "halted BJP's march." On
Wednesday, Mr Govindacharya issued a statement
saying the recent opinion poll by A.C. Nielson had
only created two false impressions: that the BJP
and its allies together will get 231 seats and the
Congress alone 172, and that Mrs Gandhi has been
able to stop the surge of the BJP.
According to him, the 172 figure (credited to
Congress) included the allies of the Congress as
well. "And who are these allies? Samajwadi Party
and RPI in Maharashtra. RJD in Bihar. BSP in
Punjab. BKKP in Uttar Pradesh. The survey does not
mention the allies like The Muslim League and the
Kerala Congress. How many seats will allies get? No
figures given. But one can have a good example in
Bihar. The Congress and allies will get 18 seats in
the state according to the survey. The 172 includes
this 18 also," Mr Govindacharya said.
He said the opinion poll had failed to mention the
word "allies" and credited all the 172 to the
Congress while the word "allies" was added to the
BJP figure.
On Mrs Gandhi halting BJP march, Mr Govindacharya
said of the 10 states for which the survey had
given detailed data, the BJP was shown surging
ahead in eight states and maintaining its position
in one. Only in Maharashtra the BJP and its allies
were shown losing nine seats, from 33 to 23.
"Of the same 10 states, Congress tally comes down
in four. In Bihar and Tamil Nadu it is status quo.
In four states it improves. Of these, in Madhya
Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh it is at the
expense of United Front. Only the nine seats in
Maharashtra is gain to Congress from the BJP and
its allies. Yet it is said, 'Sonia Halts BJP
March,'" the BJP leader said.
He said people were flocking to Mrs Gandhi's
rallies only out of curiosity, and the Congress
would not make any electoral gain out of it. Four
factors decide the victory in a seat:
infrastructure, effective candidature, election
atmosphere and resources. Holding meeting alone
does not help. Moreover, Sonia is going to areas
where the Congress is strong," Mr Govindacharya
said.
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End of bjp-l-digest V2 #59
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