By IANS,
New Delhi : The chief ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) states will meet here Thursday to take stock of the political situation and discuss the strategy to defeat the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the July 22 trust vote.
“A meeting of the NDA chief ministers has been convened to discuss the political situation,” Vijay Kumar Malhotra, deputy leader of the BJP in Rajya Sabha, said Tuesday.
The meeting is likely to be attended by all 12 chief ministers of the NDA-ruled states, said BJP sources.
Malhotra said his party was confident that the UPA government had the backing of only 250 MPs, far short of the half-way mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would seek a trust vote.
The Left parties, with 59 MPs in the lower house, withdrew support to the government following their differences over the India-US nuclear deal, reducing the ruling coalition to a minority.
Malhotra said: “The Congress is indulging in horse-trading by misusing money power.
“We are confident that this government is not going to survive the trust vote,” he added.
The BJP leader said the core group of the party comprising senior leaders was meeting almost daily to take stock of political developments. Party sources said that most meetings were taking place at the residence of senior BJP leader M. Venkaiah Naidu.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the basis of the Samajwadi Party’s support to the UPA on the India-US nuclear deal.
“Two years ago US President George Bush had come to India and at that time Samajwadi Party had burnt his effigies and held countrywide demonstrations against him.
“Now (Samajwadi Party general secretary) Amar Singh suddenly finds (BJP leader L.K.) Advani to be more dangerous than Bush. We would like to congratulate Amar Singh on this about turn,” Prasad said.