By IANS,
Lucknow : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh, who cast his vote here for the parliamentary polls Thursday, said he was confident that his party would come to power at the centre. He was accompanied by the BJP’s Lucknow candidate Lalji Tandon, who said people want a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Echoing the views of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, Rajnath Singh said: “It is already quite clearly evident that the BJP is marching ahead to form the next government.”
Earlier, Advani had told reporters in Ahmedabad that he was confident that the NDA would come to power after the ongoing general elections.
Tandon said he was sure of winning the Lucknow seat since voters want a continuance of the legacy of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who has represented the constituency in parliament five consecutive times.
“I have no doubts about my victory because not only do the people want to see continuance of Atalji’s legacy, they also want a NDA government in New Delhi,” he said.
“Atalji’s absence has made voters and party workers more active. People here want the BJP to win this seat and gift it to Atalji,” Tandon added.
In the same breath, he accused the Election Commission of not being strict with those violating the model code of conduct.
“Parties here are violating the poll conduct and the Election Commission is just observing them as a mute spectator,” Tandon said.
Citing an example of violation of poll conduct, Tandon said: “Even though the campaigning for the third phase has ended, today’s newspapers are flooded with advertisements of political parties with appeals to vote for them.
“The BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) is luring voters by distributing gifts. I am surprised that the Election Commission cannot see the violation.”