BJP sticks to its stance on Narayanan.

Byline: Nilanjana Bhaduri Jha

: The ruling BJP is losing no sleep over rejecting a second term for President K R Narayanan. And any Opposition muttering on consensus is swept away with a lesson in recent history.

The party, which was the main Opposition the last time around, was "not even told, let alone consulted by the then ruling party Congress. Even Narayanan did not bother to meet us about his candidature and it was left to us to go to him after three days and extend support," a senior BJP leader pointed out.

The BJP is now equally dismissive about the Congress contention that a contest should be avoided and that they should be consulted before any decision is made. "A consensus would be desirable, but not on Narayanan," the leader added emphatically.

He said that the threat of a contest did not worry the party, confident as it was of numbers and the support of not only allies but also parties like the AIADMK. The Vajpayee government is citing convention to reject a second term for Narayanan.

For the time being, the NDA government is playing its cards close to its chest on its likely candidate for the President. But a senior Cabinet minister insisted that Maharashtra Governor P C Alexander remained their choice for now.

The Dalit card played by Narayanan backers is also not working, as ...