The BJP, instead, will mainly focus on the able leadership of prime minister AB Vajpayee, stability to be offered by the newly formed National Democratic Alliance and the achievements of 13-month BJP-led coalition government.

A veteran BJP leader and a close confidante of Vajpayee, Pramod Mahajan who gave a valedictory address at the two-day executive meeting of the Maharashtra unit in Mumbai said that the issue of Sonia Gandhi's citizenship has become number four on their election campaign agenda. ``Even here, her inexperience in Indian politics will be projected first and then comes her being a foreigner."

He commented that that the AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha, Telgu Desam Supremo supremo N Chandrababu Naidu and Trinamul Congress leader MamataBanerjee had already raised Sonia's foreigner status and opposed her candidature for the prime ministershipp.

Mahajan at length explained how Gandhi's foreigner status was not the issue during 1998 parliamentary elections as she was not projected as the prime ministerial candidate. "However, with projecting herself as the claimant for the prime minister's post by Sonia Gandhi after the dissolution of 12th Lok Sabha, the political scenario had changed," he said.

According to Mahajan, in the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll "Congress will not be in a positiion to even touch a 150 mark."

Mahajan ruled out any meeting with Pawar. "How can BJP tie-up with Pawar who along with PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar are the only three leaders left in the Congress with the rest of the party members resigning," he commented.