"I feel the nation is moving towards mid-term poll and how long the new Government would last is difficult to say," Vajpayee told a rally of BJP workers at his Race Course residence here.

Maintaining that the new combination might not be able to secure the requisite numbers, the Prime Minister said that even though frequent elections were not good for the country's stability, they were necessary since "we need to have a stable Government". He suggested that the party workers should be prepared to face a mid-term poll in view of the present political situation.

Vajpayee said democracy was a game of numbers as was witnessed in the Lok Sabha on Saturday when the Government lost by a single vote.

The BJP, he said, had told President KR Narayanan that he should follow the same norms which hehad adopted while inviting the BJP-led coalition to form the Government last year.