LJP's move indicates groundswell in favour of BJP: Jaitley

New Delhi, Feb 28: BJP today said the decision of Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) to be a part of NDA indicates the groundswell in support of the alliance and claimed that electoral tie-ups in several states are in the offing.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley also said that there are chances of more alliances before or after the general elections, going by the growing strength of the alliance.

"A large number of political leaders, eminent citizens and political groups are extending support to BJP either by coming to the party or aligning with the NDA. The groundswell in support of the BJP/NDA and Narendra Modi is clearly visible... "What is significant today is a combination of popular support, increasing number of allies and the social character of the expanding alliance. All this signals a new change," he said.

Jaitley said when certain political groups identify themselves with NDA, their areas of influence may be confined to a particular state, but their joining sends a larger political signal. The BJP leader said a strong BJP has the capacity to attract more friends and allies and the groundswell of this support is visible in the BJP rallies, which is a "game changer".

"It sends a message loud and clear of which way the wind is blowing," he said. Jaitley said those who had left the BJP in states like Gujarat and Karnataka have all returned adding to the strength of the party and it has significant allies in states like Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.

"There are several states in which electoral tie-ups before the elections or political tie-ups after the elections are both possible and probable," he said. He said he had strongly believed that a strong BJP will lead to a stronger NDA and a lesson in strengthening the alliance can be taken from former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's book. "A three-party NDA in 1996 became a 24-party NDA in 1998. To attract regional allies, one has to accept and respect India's federal and diverse character," he said.

PTI