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Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

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National

BJP undermining our chances: SP

By Javed M Ansari

New Delhi. April 27. Under pressure from both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, the Samajwadi Party is being forced to prove its secular credentials, almost on a daily basis.

For the third time in as many days, the party today ruled out the possibility of any kind of truck with the National Democratic Alliance and pledged itself to work for the formation of a "secular government" after the elections. "We will work whole heartedly to ensure that a government of secular parties comes to power at the Centre," the party general secretary, Amar Singh, told The Hindu over phone from Lucknow.

At the end of the first round of polls in Uttar Pradesh, there appears to be a perceptible uneasiness in the SP camp over reports of a shift in the loyalty of the Muslim voters away from the party, in view of its "perceived proximity" to the BJP.

The SP leadership has tried to limit the damage by sharpening its attack on the BJP leadership. Mr. Yadav discounted the possibility of a tie-up with the NDA, while Mr. Amar Singh hit out at the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the NDA convener, George Fernandes, by accusing them of trying to undermine his party's chances by talking of a post-poll alliance.

Reacting to Prime Minister Vajpayee's statement alluding to certain ideological similarities between the BJP and the SP, Mr. Singh said that if that was true then the Prime Minister should join the SP.

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