The Hindu : Front Page : Advani revives ‘party with a difference’ slogan

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Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008
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Advani revives ‘party with a difference’ slogan

Neena Vyas

‘Fight against anti-incumbency in BJP-ruled States’

— Photo: S. Subramanium

BJP leader L.K. Advani with party president Rajnath Singh at the party’s National Council meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: It was the moment Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani must have been waiting for. The 3,000-plus delegates to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s National Council gave him a standing ovation as he got up to speak to them at the closing session of the party conclave as the National Democratic Alliance’s prime ministerial candidate.

And Mr. Advani was in a generous mood, recalling contributions made to the party by the past presidents, including Venkaiah Naidu, Bangaru Laxman and Murli Manohar Joshi.

He was pleased with the upbeat mood of the party, he said, while recalling the many ups and downs witnessed by it during the last 28 years and longer since the days of the Jana Sangh.

He recounted the “achievements” of the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the lack of any, according to him, of the current ruling coalition, the United Progressive Alliance.

Zero tolerance

On terrorism, he admired the “zero tolerance” of terrorism of the United States post 9/11. And he declared that the meaning of the Gujarat electoral verdict was that the people saw Chief Minister Narendra Modi as “secular.”

New direction

However, as he talked about the new direction that the party should take in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls on 2009, he harked back to the old party slogan of a “party with a difference.’

“Ours is a party with a difference. Our MLAs and our MPs must be different. The politicians in our party must be different. Are we ready for this?”

Key factor

He said that often anti-incumbency was a factor against sitting MLAs and Ministers. The party must be prepared to fight against anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

His final words and message to party delegates was that the faster the UPA goes out, the better.

“Let us work to make the people realise that it was time for this government to pack up and go. Wherever we have State governments they must work in a manner that the people see what we do.”

Earlier, party president Rajnath Singh said that ahead of the conclave he visited Mr. Vajpayee and he had sent his good wishes to party delegates and to Mr. Advani, who also mentioned Mr. Vajpayee’s decision to hand over charge to him.

Besides a programme of rallies to be addressed by Mr. Advani at various district headquarters starting February 6, the party has asked its State units to set up booth-level committees and organise assembly constituency-level conventions of booth committees.

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