By IANS,
Bangalore : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Friday exhorted party leaders and cadres to strive for the victory of prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani in the coming parliamentary elections.
In his presidential address at the party’s three-day national executive meeting here, Singh told about 250 delegates from across the country that the time had come to work resolutely in the coming months for the party’s victory in the assembly elections to some states and Lok Sabha subsequently.
“The people have made up their mind for change. We all have to be ready to contribute our mite in this struggle… Our goal is clear… Our resolve is to win. I am confident… Advani will definitely become the prime minister of the country,” Singh said amidst thumping of desks by the delegates and cadres.
Asserting that the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had lost faith of the people by the way its government functioned over the last four years, Singh said Advani was not only a ray of hope for party members, but that the people were expectantly looking at him to lead the country with the blessings of party patriarch and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
“We will rest only after forming our governments in the states where elections are due and at the centre after the general elections due early next year. We have to expedite the process of constituting booth committees in all assembly and parliamentary constituencies for the upcoming elections,” Singh pointed out.
“BJP is in government on its own in seven states and as part of coalition governments in five states with allies. We have the largest number of scheduled caste, scheduled tribe and women legislators in the country. On the one hand, we are expanding politically, and on the other, our social and political responsibilities too are increasing. The people no longer have any expectations from the ruling Congress,” Singh affirmed.
Exhorting the cadres to make the ensuing ‘vijay sankalp rally (victory affirmation procession) of Advani across the country a grand success, Singh conveyed Vajpayee’s blessings to the delegates and regrets for not being present on a significant occasion.
Earlier, party’s Karnataka state unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda welcomed the delegates to the meeting being held in a swank five-star hotel amid tight security and fanfare.
The party’s top brass, including Advani, vice-presidents Venkaiah Naidu, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, senior party leader Murali Manohar Joshi and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states were felicitated and crowned with the famous Mysore headgear (petha).
Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa made the opening remarks and gave a brief account of his government’s performance over the last 100 days. The party leaders also hailed Yeddyurappa for having brought the party to power for the first time in the state as well as in South India.
Vajpayee’s absence was conspicuous though his countenance figures prominently on the massive canvass along with other leaders, forming the backdrop.
Hours before the meeting began, the venue in downtown had been cordoned off and vehicular traffic regulated through the busy thoroughfare to prevent choking, a common feature in the IT hub.
The city police had deployed about 300 policemen in and around the venue, which was sanitised and cleared after the dog squad sniffed around the place.
About 500 party cadres and members of the sangh parivar have been pressed into service to coordinate various activities related to the three-day meeting.
The venue and surrounding areas have been decked up with the party’s saffron-coloured flags, its lotus symbol, buntings, banners and huge cut-outs of its prominent leaders.