New Delhi, March 11 :    New Delhi, March 11:  The BJP's allies have refused to be swayed by the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas' 'tactical' shift from puja to pillar donation, smelling in it a ploy to legitimise the temple spearhead's claim on the acquired land. Sources said the Vajpayee government is banking on three factors - the differences between the Nyas and the VHP, the RSS' 'persuasive' powers and the softening of the BJP's hardliners - to tide over the worst crisis it has faced so far. The government is again pinning hopes on the RSS to prevail on the VHP and the Nyas to defer the programme by three to four months to prevent a confrontation. It is learnt that defence minister and NDA convener, George Fernandes, and BJP president K. Jana Krishnamurthi were in touch with RSS functionaries Madan Das Devi and Mohanrao Bhagwat, asking them to 'persuade' the VHP. The RSS' general council is meeting in Bangalore from March 15, the day the VHP has threatened to hold the puja. The Sangh's national executive will meet a day before to finalise the agenda. The RSS had earlier tried in vain to broker a truce. Another ray of hope for the government is the subtle backtracking of hardliners within the BJP, which robs the VHP of a valuable source of strength and support. These hardliners -mainly Uttar Pradesh MPs - had sent a signed letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, protesting against the restrictions in Ayodhya. The railway minister's assertion in the House today that train services to Ayodhya would be resumed only after a written advice by the home ministry has troubled the MPs. But Swami Chinmayanand, the prime mover behind the protest, told The Telegraph: 'The government has no choice but (to) fulfil its constitutional and legal responsibilities.' The changed stand, said party sources, was prompted by the realisation that if they carried things too far and made it seem as though Vajpayee was 'isolated', he would have no choice but to put in his papers. 'That would be disastrous because it would lead to either chaos or another election,' said a senior BJP leader. It was also said that home minister L.K. Advani had distanced himself from the hardliners. Official sources said that in its submission to the court, the government was expected to refer to today's pillar puja to buttress its contention that nothing untoward would happen if a symbolic ceremony was allowed on a small portion of the 'undisputed' land. The government feels that the one-day programme would not alter the status quo ante in any way. However, NDA sources described the Nyas' new proposal as a 'clever ploy' to hoodwink them and the Opposition. 'Accepting the pillars would amount to official endorsement of encroachment on the acquired land. It is not the receiver's business to accept bricks but to see that the property is not encroached upon. We would advise the Centre not to fall into the Nyas' latest trap,' said an NDA leader.