The BJP leadership today conceded its failure to effectively fill the political space vacated by the blundering UPA,and sought to send a strong message down the line in the party on the need to refocus and work towards becoming a meaningful alternative in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The sharpest articulation of the need for a reality check came from patriarch L K Advani,who told members of the national executive here that the BJP would have to meet the expectations of the people if it is to emerge as a viable answer to the floundering UPA. Many people are upset with the Congress. But they come to me and ask whether the BJP can fulfill their expectations. It is a point to ponder, Advani told his colleagues. He pointed out that Mamata Banerjees Trinamool Congress was able to oust the CPM after 30 years only because the people saw it as a credible alternative. The BJP itself had come to be seen as an alternative to the Congress after 1990 because of the hard work that it put in under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee,Advani said. The message that the BJP is the answer has to be conveyed effectively, he told the meeting. He reminded the national executive that Vajpayee and he had also succeeded in expanding the NDA from a mere three-party alliance to BJP looks for way to reap UPAs harvest of blunders an effective 26-party coalition. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj underscored in her address the need to carry outside the two Houses the momentum generated by the performance of the partys parliamentary arm. She talked about the imperative to ensure synergy between sansad,sadak (the street) and sanghathan (organisation), spokesperson Shahnawaz told reporters. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said that the UPAs drift and failure on all fronts presented both an opportunity and a challenge for the BJP. The BJP must now be ready with a plan and direction to restore the national economy. The national mood of anti-Congressism must be exploited and the NDA expanded, he told the meeting. The political resolution moved in the national executive meeting made strong comments on the policy paralysis in government,and its failure to curb corruption and inflation,and tackle terrorism and Naxalism.
