10 BJP MPs likely to abstain from trust vote

BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI

July 19: Facing challenges in keeping its own house intact ahead of the crucial trust vote next Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday swung into action and put its top leaders to persuade possible defectors and ensure that they toe the party line.

Sources in the BJP circles confirm that at least 10 of its MPs are likely to defy the party whip and abstain from the Lok Sabha to help the UPA to scrape through the trust vote on the floor of the House. "As many as three from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Gujarat and Rajasthan, one each from Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are toying with the idea of abstention," they said, adding that the main reason for their "possible" rebellion against the party is their apprehension that they might be given party tickets to contest next Lok Sabha elections.

Their assessment of a possible denial of party ticket is based on the precautionary words of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani in his concluding remarks to the national council meeting held here in January 2008. Speaking at the meeting, Mr Advani not only lauded Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi winning back to back Assembly elections in the state, he also said that the "Gujarat model" would be followed, while allotting party tickets in the coming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. "Often, displeasure over a local MLA or MP hurts the party, as we saw at the time of the 2004 parliamentary elections," Mr Advani had said, hinting that non-performing sitting legislators both to the Assembly and Lok Sabha might be denied tickets.

In his speech, Mr Advani, however, also exhorted party MLAs and MPs to utilise the time left and improve the situation in their respective constituencies.

"Go among the people find out what they have to say about the performance of our MLAs, MPs, ministers and government in general and take corrective measures wherever necessary," he had said.

Now, when the party is encountered with a different situation in the backdrop of the trust vote, BJP emissaries, who are approaching these possible defectors, are talking to them with a promise that they would be given party tickets to contest the next Lok Sabha elections.

However, there is some good news in the NDA camp, as the JD(U) has managed to make inroads into rival UPA by ensuring defections by at least four RJD MPs — including MPs Ganesh Yadav, Rajesh Manjhi, Veer Chandra Paswan and Girdhari Yadav from Jehanabad, Gaya, Nawada and Banka respectively — in Bihar, JD(U) sources confirmed.