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Vajpayee says poll debacle won't affect his government

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today rejected any suggestion for a change of government at the Centre and stated that the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies would prove their strength on the floor of the Lok Sabha in the coming Parliament session.

''The results in the assembly elections are so far against our expectations. These will, however, not affect our strength in the Lok Sabha. To say that the government at the Centre should be changed is meaningless," he told the media in New Delhi.

Expressing surprise over the BJP's poor performance in the elections, the prime minister was, however, confident that the BJP's allies would stand by the party.

''We are prepared to face pressure from any quarter. Our allies are with us. We expect complete co-operation from them," he said.

Vajpayee, who appeared relaxed while talking to the media after inaugurating a conference on housing, said the results indicated that the people wanted a change.

He said the BJP would analyse the results threadbare and see what had really gone wrong.

When it was pointed out to him that the runaway prices of essential commodities had contributed largely to the BJP's poor performance, Vajpayee said the price rise issue concerned both the Centre and the states.

He said he had yesterday convened a meeting of the chief ministers where it was decided that both the Centre and the states should co-ordinate to see that the prices were brought down.

Vajpayee said he was particularly surprised over the results coming in from Madhya Pradesh.

"We thought the incumbency factor will work in our favour in Madhya Pradesh but that has not happened so far."

Delhi, the prime minister admitted, was always doubtful as far as his party was concerned. The replacement of Sahib Singh with Sushma Swaraj as the Delhi chief minister obviously had not helped the BJP, he said.

Vajpayee said some of the results were surprising not only for the BJP but "even for our rivals".

Asked if the Congress would not openly challenge the BJP now that the results had gone in favour the main opposition party, he said, "We are ready to face any pressure."

UNI Assembly Election '98

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