Faced with a show-cause notice from the Election Commission over the Lucknow stampede, the BJP is working on an escape route for itself, leaving senior UP leader Lalji Tandon to fend for himself.Sources said today the BJP would plead with the EC that the ‘‘act of an individual per se cannot be construed as an act of the party’’. Individual violation of the code of conduct by a candidate cannot be held against the entire party.The BJP, according to the sources, is likely to reply to the notice by April 23. The party, they said, would steer clear of the issue as nobody asked the participants at the birthday function to vote for the BJP.The display of BJP posters and flags at the venue “did not matter’’. To defend its stand, the BJP cites a Kerala HC judgment which upheld organisation of community meals by Congress candidates in LS constituencies while mourning Rajiv Gandhi’s death in the midst of the 1991 polls. ‘‘The court ruled that the meals were relatable to mourning’’ even though Congress nominees put out posters with the party symbol, they said.
