New Delhi, The BJP leadership is worried over its failure to attract new allies to join the National Democratic Alliance as this serious problem could ruin party's bid to return to power in the next general elections.

The issue was deliberated upon at a high-level meeting on Sunday where all the senior leaders including party president Rajnath Singh, L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and M Venkiah Naidu also identified the issues that party would make its election planks for the forthcoming assembly elections in six states.

The party leaders also discussed the manifesto for the upcoming elections. The BJP president Singh and party's Prime Ministerial candidate asked the senior leaders to identify small party to expand the NDA further. It was also decided to restart talks with Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh, which were earlier broken by the BJP itself under pressure from its Uttar Pradesh unit particularly from former chief minister Kalyan Singh.

Currently, there are only five parties left in the NDA. During BJP led-NDA regime the alliance had 24 constituents. The issues party has identified to highlight during election campaign include Congress indecisiveness on its Prime Ministerial candidate, the policy of the ruling alliance towards terrorism, inflation and law and order situation in the country.

The BJP leaders in informal chat admit that alliances will make a huge difference to the prospects of return of a Congress or BJP-led alliance to power. After the BJP announced Advani as its Prime Ministerial candidate in December 2007, the party had assigned Sushma Swaraj with the responsibility of identifying new allies. Notwithstanding her best efforts the party has not been able to rope in a single party.

The BJP has pinned its hope in the upcoming assembly elections. The strategy managers of the party are of the view that if BJP is able to retain its government in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and also bagged Delhi in its kitty, many of the fence sitters would be inclined to join NDA. The party leaders say new alliances will be firmed up by November when the results of the Assembly elections are out.

The BJP has not yet been able to decide what to do of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackery and whether the party should work on Om Prakash Chautala to attract him to NDA in Haryana or ally with Bhajan Lal. However, BSP supreme Mayawati is already in touch with both of them to make foray in Haryana.

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