New Delhi, Aug. 1: Atal Bihari Vajpayee today called for unity in the National Democratic Alliance even as two trusted partners made noises to the contrary.

At the BJP’s chintan baithak in Goa, the former Prime Minister indicated that the party could not afford to alienate any of its allies, regardless of pressure from the RSS to revert to the Hindutva agenda.

The first sign of opposition ironically came from one of the BJP’s most loyal ally, the Janata Dal (United), at a meeting of its national executive.

“If they (BJP) return to the old agenda (Hindutva), then we will not be with them. There cannot be any two opinions on this,” senior party leader Digvijay Singh had warned yesterday.

Dal (U) chief George Fernandes said his party joined the NDA on the condition that the alliance’s manifesto would not refer to the contentious issues of Ram temple, Article 370 and uniform civil code.

“We made it clear that we will not join the NDA if these three items remained in the manifesto,” Fernandes said.

Another ally, the Telugu Desam Party, too, sent out a warning. “The TDP will review its ties with the BJP in the event they take the communal route,” Desam spokesman Umareddy Venkateswarlu said today in Hyderabad.

His party’s brass are observing the BJP’s ongoing brainstorming session and feel there is little to hold the partners together after the defeat in the Lok Sabha polls. The Desam has 46 legislators as against its previous lowest tally of 75 in 1989.

The BJP rode to power on the Ram temple plank but put the issue on the backburner under compulsions of governance and to keep the NDA flock united.

But after the parliamentary poll defeat, the BJP executive had met in Mumbai and declared it was time to talk Hindutva.

Fernandes admitted that a section of his party is in favour of snapping ties with the NDA but the Dal (U) has decided to wait because so far there has not been any tangible indication of the BJP adopting a Hindutva strategy.

“Many leaders present at the (party) meeting argued there was no need for us to stay with the NDA. This is not the first time that the party has voiced such an opinion,” said the Dal (U) chief, who has stood by the BJP through thick and thin.

For now, the Dal (U) will go ahead with its alliance in Jharkhand and Bihar, scheduled to go to polls soon. “We are part of the NDA,” Fernandes said.

His party leaders complained at the meeting about the BJP conducting its own campaign at the expense of the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.

When the NDA was in power, the BJP’s partners had kept quiet on explosive issues like the Gujarat riots. But with the ouster of the Vajpayee government, the alliance has become vulnerable to criticism from within.