BHOPAL: The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party will release about a dozen subject-wise election manifestos instead of a consolidated one for the mid-term polls to be held in May.

A number of Manifesto committees are already at work and the final election manifestos on various subjects including foreign affairs defence price rise and communal harmony are likely to be released by the end of this month party general secretary Kushabhau Thakre told the Press Trust of India here on Friday.

He said that most of the outgoing members of Parliament from his party would again be selected for contesting the elections to Parliament.

A preliminary round of exercises concerning selection of party candidates in almost all the states going to the polls had already been completed and a final list of party nominees would be finalized soon he said.

Asked about his assessment of the party’s poll prospects the BJP leader said his party would definitely double to its present strength of 86 in the outgoing Lok Sabha and in the prevailing political atmosphere in the country its strength could even touch the 265 mark

Major electoral gains for his party in the coming Parliamentary elections were expected in Maharashtra Gujarat Rajasthan Himchal Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh he said.

In Madhya Pradesh he said his party expected to improve its strength from 27 seats in the previous Lok Sabha to at least 36 seats. It might concede hardly four or five seats out of a total of 40 seats from the state in the Lok Sabha add.

Five people were killed overnight Thursday. Sikh militants are fighting for an independent homeland Khalistan.

An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Tarn Taran district Thursday night Police recovered an AK-47 rifle with some cartages from the spot.

Another unidentified militant was killed in a shoot-out with security forces near Hew Khurd village in Bathinda district.

Two of his accomplices however managed to escape police said.

In another encounter an unidentified militant was killed near Khanna Khurd village in Ludhiana district Thursday night.

Militant Bhai Jasmer Singh alias Jassa was killed in an encounter with security forces near Wara Chain village in Ferozepore district Thursday night.

Militants shot dead a Punjab Police constable a Gian Singh at his home in Sadar police station area of Amritsar Wednesday night.

Article extracted from this publication >> March 22, 1991