HEADLINES POLL ARCHIVES FEEDBACK SEARCH REDIFF NEWSLINKS US EDITION NEWS DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ARCHIVES
Onkar Singh in Jammu
Rajnath Singh, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the Bharatiya Janata Party's general secretary in charge of Jammu and Kashmir, said on Monday that the people of the state would give a 'mixed verdict'.
Speaking to rediff.com in Jammu, Singh predicted that the next government in the state would be a coalition government. "I am convinced that no government would be formed in the state without the help of the BJP," he said. "The people of Jammu and Kashmir have decided to teach a lesson to the National conference for its misrule and non-performance by voting it out of power," he added.
He said that if the BJP comes to power it would ensure regional autonomy for Jammu and Ladakh regions.
"We want to end discrimination between Srinagar and Jammu and Srinagar and Leh. We are totally opposed to any kind of arrangement whereby the state of Jammu and Kashmir would have its pre-1953 status," he said.
He also promised his party would attend to the problems of the migrants living in various camps in the state on a 'top priority basis'.
Confident of increasing the tally this time [the BJP had only 8 seats in the last assembly], Singh admitted having 'some problems' in seat adjustments with the Jammu State Morcha. "We have arrived at an agreement with the morcha on most of the seats barring two or three. We do not want the votes to be divided," he said.
He did not agree with the suggestion that the BJP's campaign had suffered in the absence of its star campaigners, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
