The Hindu : National : Advani sees a pro-incumbency wave

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 16, 2004

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National

Advani sees a pro-incumbency wave

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, APRIL 15. Never before in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections since Independence has the Deputy Prime Minister, L. K. Advani, seen "such a high-level of satisfaction" with the performance of the Government among the people that he is convinced of a "pro-incumbency wave'' sweeping the country.

Addressing the press here this afternoon — he flew in from Puri this morning after completing a 33-day `yatra' in two phases — Mr. Advani did not think that the severe indictment of the Modi Government in Gujarat by the Supreme Court or the Lucknow stampede that left 22 women dead — would have any impact on the elections. No, in fact, the "BJP has become the natural party of governance," he said.

On allegations of corruption in the purchase of AK-47 rifles from Bugaria, Mr. Advani said: "My Ministry has already made a statement. On the Supreme Court judgement in the Best Bakery case, he said "the Gujarat Government would implement the Court order." Asked about the Lucknow stampede, he said he did not think that it would impact the elections. On the Ram Mandir issue being included in the National Democratic Alliance agenda he said: "If you read the NDA document ... nobody would object." To a question he said "India was shining because of "these six years, but it is not fully developed ... the process is on, that is why, we say `India is shining', we do not say `India has shone'." To a query on the minorities, his view was: "Six years of NDA rule has impelled the minorities to start taking a second look at the BJP; they have come to the conclusion that the hate campaign against us is baseless."

The BJP, he said, had always held fast to the motto — India first. It had grown to be the "principal pole in the polity" and he was glad that the country now had a ``bi-polar polity''. But what worried him was that the "failure of the Congress party may revert the country to a uni-polar polity."

Recalling the past `yatras' undertaken by him — in 1990 from Somnath to Ayodhya was the `Ram rath yatra'; in 1997, he undertook the `Swarna jayanti yatra' with good governance as his motto — Mr. Advani said that his third `yatra' was in fact a "substitute election campaign." He came down heavily on those who said that his `yatra' would lead to bloodshed and violence.

"What do they have to say now,'' he asked. Perhaps "they are disappointed that it went off peacefully."

His `yatra' was a grand success, much beyond his expectations, and it was in Bihar that the `yatra' was received with the greatest enthusiasm.

Mr. Advani is scheduled to spend a few days in his own constituency, Gandhinagar, spend a few days here after polling day in Gujarat, which is on April 20.

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