Cong to gain at BJP's expense in LS polls: Uma

Chandigarh, Sept 16: Asserting that the BJP has failed to stick to its ideology, Bhartiya Janshakti Party supremo Uma Bharti today said the BJP would suffer a massive loss in the next Lok Sabha elections which could result in a direct gain for the congress.

''The BJP is going to face a great loss in the next Lok Sabha polls, especially in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and the Congress will have the direct gain in the process,'' said the firebrand Sanyasin who was expelled from the BJP last year for her outburst at senior party leader L K Advani and some second generation leaders.

While conceding the electoral gain to the Congress, she candidly admitted her party's limited reach at present and said: 'We can't say we will gain by the BJP's loss as we don't want to make tall claims.'' The BJP leadership, she claimed, had deviated from its original ideology which could cost it heavily in the elections.

They were not able to decide whether they would continue on the track of Swadeshi and the 'Ram Mandir' issue.

In an appeal to the Sangh Parivar to prevent the possible Congress upsurge due to the BJP decline, she said the ideological parties supporting the BJP would have to chalk out a strategy in this regard.

Otherwise, Congress president Sonia Gandhi would emerge as a big national leader. The BJP would be wiped out and the Congress would become stronger, she added.

Taking a dig at Mr L K Advani for diluting the Hindutva agenda of the BJP, the Sanyasin said her party would campaign for the Ayodhya issue but not on a chariot like Mr Advani. ''Hum Advani ki tarah rath mein nahin jayenge kyunki rath mein baitha vyakti rath se utar jata hai. Hum paidal jayenge. (We will not go aboard a chariot like Advani since a person travelling in a chariot can always get down. We will go on foot),'' she quipped respending to a question whether her party planned to launch any campaign for the construction of the Ram Mandir.

Asked if the Janshakti Party had chalked out any specific plan of action on the Ayodhya issue, Ms Bharti said even the BJP had been implementing the programmes announced by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on this issue in the past.

''Our party would also undertake any programme which would be declared by the VHP in future,'' she added.

To another question, Ms Bharti said she was carrying on an ideological fight with the BJP leadership but still respected leaders like Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Mr Advani.

''I still love them very much. But when it comes to the ideological fight, it is quite a serious matter,'' she said and added that Mr Vajpayee was like a father to her.

UNI