BJP to focus on winning on own strength

NEW DELHI: Under pressure with virtually all its ���friends��� likely to dump it in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has decided to change tack and focus on winning more seats ���on its own strength��� hoping higher numbers will fetch more allies in the post-poll scenario.

���No, we have to fight on our own strength. Allies don���t come for nothing, alliances happen on the basis of our own strength... The stronger we get, the more allies we will fetch,��� the party���s prime ministerial candidate LK Advani told cadres in Gandhinagar this weekend when a worker asked if more parties were slated to join the NDA.

The change in strategy came after a reported meeting between the party���s top brass and the RSS last month where Sangh leaders, sources said, had suggested allies would line-up in the post-poll scenario if the party gets a ���decent figure���, or else, ���the risk of existing ones deserting the coalition for greener pastures looms large.���

While the dust is yet to settle, indications are that the party is set to lose allies in key states such as AP, TN and West Bengal. Probably the biggest jolt came when there were reports that even Shiv Sena, always considered an integral part of the Sangh Parivar, may tie up with NCP in Maharashtra. Seat sharing talks with other partners in Orissa, Bihar, Punjab and UP are also not going the BJP���s way.