The BJP is a leading opposition party in India's parliament, and is using online advertising and as key elements of its campaign strategy for the elections that start next month.

The party's promise to standardize on open source is a departure from the party's earlier policy not to take sides with either open source or proprietary software, leaving these decisions to individual government agencies.

The party ruled the country from October 1999 to May 2004. The subsequent United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government also continued with the hands-off policy on selection of open source or proprietary software.

Some state governments, however, have programs around open-source software.

An "IT Vision Document" released by the BJP on Saturday also proposes a Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC) with a unique Citizen Identification Number (CIN) for every Indian citizen in three years. The cards will replace all other identification systems, the party said.