BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan on Friday sought to downplay down Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's criticism of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's offer to hold talks with Pakistan.

He said that the two were of the opinion that talks with Pakistan were possible only if cross-border terrorism stopped, but were expressing their views in different styles.

Mahajan is in Mumbai to attend a joint conclave of the BJP and Shiv Sena's state level leadership to plan the strategy for a possible mid-term poll in Maharashtra.

"The prime minister spoke about the need for talks with Pakistan, but emphasised that dialogue could not take place if cross-border terrorism continued. Thackeray also made the same point," Mahajan said.

He predicted a clean sweep for the BJP in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh, which go to the polls in October-November this year.

"We expect a 4-0 victory in this final test between Congress and the BJP ahead of the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Non-performance of the Congress governments in these states will be the chief election issue," said the former Union minister, who has been asked by the party to supervise the campaign for these elections.

Mahajan said a mid-term poll in Maharashtra coinciding with the elections in the four states was a distinct possibility and thus the BJP-Shiv Sena conclave.

The two parties have contested nine national and regional elections since they came together in 1985.

The conclave, to be attended by nearly 450 Shiv Sena and BJP leaders, MPs, MLAs, will be held on Saturday at the Rang Sharda auditorium in Bandra. Thackeray and Mahajan will address the gathering on the concluding session.

Commenting on Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray's new campaign to prevent the influx of migrants into the city, Mahajan said, "This is not an issue related to religion or language. The civic infrastructure of other cities is also under pressure due to influx of people from other regions."

"If the Shiv Sena decides to take up an awareness campaign, it cannot be opposed. There is a need for a national policy on the issue, and it cannot be limited to Mumbai."

He defended the VHP's controversial trishul distribution campaign saying, "As a long as the trishul is not used as a weapon, the BJP does not see a reason to ban its distribution."

But subsequently sought to distance his party from the affair saying, "It is not a BJP programme."

Earlier in the day, the BJP state executive passed a resolution demanding a CBI inquiry into the Rs 20 billion (Rs 2,000 crore) fake stamp-paper racket allegedly involving Abdul Karim Telgi, and the four recent bomb blasts in Mumbai.

On Thursday, the Democratic Front government gave Mumbai Police Commissioner R S Sharma a clean chit in the fake stamp-paper racket.