By IANS,
Lucknow : Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lalji Tandon, who has been declared the party’s official nominee for the Lucknow parliamentary constituency, is confident of retaining the political “legacy” of his mentor former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who held this prestigious seat for five consecutive terms.
“I will carry forward Atalji’s legacy by retaining this seat,” Tandon told IANS over telephone from New Delhi from where he proposes to arrive here Monday afternoon.
He sees no challenge from his rivals – Akhilesh Das of the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) or actor Sanjay Dutt of the Samajwadi Party.
“It is bit too premature to perceive Akhilesh Das or Sanjay Dutt as the contenders as I have doubts about their ultimate candidature,” Tandon said.
“Personally, I do not think either of them will remain in the fray when it comes to the brass tacks; The BSP is already looking for an alternative to Das , who has been a reluctant nominee all along, and Dutt is unlikely to get the apex court’s permission to contest the election,” he said.
Tandon was of the view that “the vulgar display of wealth by Akhilesh Das or the filmi glitterati of Sanjay Dutt will not bear fruit”.
“This is Lucknow, where people mean business and so the voters will assess the work done by me for the city.”
Asked what would be his USP during the campaign, he said, “I began my career as a municipal corporator and rose to become the state’s urban development minister. I have seen Lucknow growing from a town into a metropolis and sure enough I have contributed a lot to it. I am sure people have not forgotten the extensive work carried out by me here.”