The Hindu : Rajasthan Congress expects good results in LS polls

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Sunday, Feb 08, 2004

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Rajasthan Congress expects good results in LS polls

By Our Special Correspondent

JAIPUR, FEB. 7. The Congress leadership in Rajasthan, which took over the reigns after the party's debacle in the recent Assembly elections today asserted that the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections were a different ball game. "We are in the process of rectifying our past mistakes and bringing together all sections of leaders,'' they said.

"It is not necessary that the pattern of the Assembly election results would be repeated in the Lok Sabha as well,'' the new president of the Pradesh Congress Committee(I), Narain Singh and Congress Legislature Party leader, B.D.Kalla said in an interaction with the media at Indira Gandhi Bhawan, the State headquarters of the party.

"There is an anti-incumbency feeling against the National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre,'' Mr.Singh, who claimed improvement in the Congress prospects in Rajasthan in a short period of two months rule by the Bharatiya Janata Party here. "The feel good factor is not for the people at large but for those who are in power,'' he said.

The Congress leaders said that only two months into the BJP rule in the State, there was already a sense of frustration among the public. "The Chief Minister talks about a deadline of 100 days but let her explain what they have done in the first 50 days,'' Mr.Singh argued. '"Already the people are repenting that they voted the BJP in the Assembly elections,'' he said.

Mr.Kalla charged the Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje of bringing in the "darbar culture'' into Rajasthan Government. "She is a non-resident Chief Minister, constantly going out of the State,'' he observed. Both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had Chief Ministers with feudal mindset, Mr.Kalla said.

The leaders, who hailed the Delhi High Court's judgment on the Bofors bribery case said the Congress image got a further boost with the clean chit given to the late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi by the judiciary. "It was a conspiracy and a politically motivated campaign to malign a visionary leader like Rajiv Gandhi and weaken the Congress party. The court verdict is the triumph of truth, they asserted.

Asked about the role of the former party Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot in the coming Lok Sabha polls here, Mr.Singh said, though now in charge of other two States, Mr.Gehlot would be helping the party in the elections in Rajasthan.

Mr.Singh revealed that the party was in the process of choosing the candidates for the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the State. The chances of winning and clean image were the major factors and the choice of candidates could be even from the newly elected MLAs of the party, he said. As for renominations to the nine MPs the party had in the State, Mr.Singh said in their case too image and winnability would be the deciding factor.

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