Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has admitted his Hindu nationalist-led coalition is facing a tougher challenge than expected in staggered Indian elections whose next round is due on Monday.
"Our supporters have taken it for granted that there is no contest. It (the perception) should not be there," Vajpayee told the Press Trust of India news agency in an interview released Sunday.
Asked if the election should be seen as a "no-contest" for his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vajpayee said: "I don't accept that."
Vajpayee said the BJP still hoped for more than 300 seats in the 545-member parliament, but asked if it would meet the target, he said, "I don't say so."
India will Monday hold the third of five phases of the world's largest election, in which 670 million voters are eligible. Results will be announced May 13.
Pre-election surveys put the BJP-led coalition comfortably ahead, but exit polls since voting began Tuesday have shown the main opposition Congress party closing the gap.
The Congress, led by the Nehru-Gandhi family, ruled India for 45 years but has been out of power since 1996, as the BJP rose to prominence on a platform of "Hindu pride."
The BJP, however, is running for a new five-year term by highlighting strong economic growth and the personal popularity of the 79-year-old prime minister who has spearheaded detente with Pakistan.
Vajpayee, whose health has often been the subject of media speculation, said no decision has been made on his potential successor.
"In a democracy there is no question of succession. When the time comes the party will decide," Vajpayee said.
Hard-line Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, 76, is widely seen as Vajpayee's successor.
The BJP won 183 seats in the last election in 1999, meeting the magic number of 272 MPs needed for a majority through alliances with some two dozen parties.
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