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BJP in no mood to humour Jaya, admits J P Mathur

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

The Bharatiya Janata Party appears to have decided not to tolerate All India Anna DMK general secretary Jayalalitha for too long, following her meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"We will tolerate her as long as we can," BJP vice-president Jagdish Prasad Mathur told a press conference this evening on the eve of the party national executive meeting in Goa.

Though he was initially unwilling to comment on Jayalalitha's hobnobbing with the Congress, journalists kept asking him how long the party could tolerate such behaviour. Finally, he admitted that the party leadership was not in a mood to tolerate it to any extent.

Mathur, however, dismissed the speculation that his government is in danger. "There is no immediate danger to our government," he said, when asked if the national executive would discuss the possibility of a snap poll in the near future.

The BJP leader agreed that the "prevailing political situation" would figure at the national executive meeting, but declined to elaborate. The economic agenda would also be discussed at length, he added.

The meeting also plans to chalk out a common strategy for the assembly poll slated to be held in nine states by November-end and in January. Though the common strategy would be to go alone except in Maharashtra, Mathur did not rule out the possibility of having seat adjustments with regional parties, if the local situation so demanded.

Even in Goa, where an election is likely to be held by May-end, he did not rule out the possibility of having seat adjustments with regional parties like the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party. "Our main objective would be to win the election," he said.

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