BJD ‘miscalculated’ NDA strength,quips Advani

LK Advani asserted that the BJP would emerge as the single largest party after the Lok Sabha elections.

Maintaining that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) “miscalculated” its strength in deciding to quit the NDA,the opposition alliance’s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani asserted on Friday that the BJP would emerge as the single largest party after the Lok Sabha elections.

“The BJD miscalculated its strength in Orissa and decided to pull out of the NDA. It will realise its mistake later. One thing is for sure that BJP will emerge as the single largest party after the Lok Sabha polls,” Advani told reporters at the airport before leaving for Buxar,Sasaram and Nawada where he is scheduled to address election meetings.

He described the third front as “illusory” when asked what future he foresaw for the conglomeration.

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When his attention was drawn to recent assertion of the leaders of the ‘fourth front’ comprising RJD,Samajwadi Party and LJP that the key to government formation would be with them after the polls,Advani quipped,”when the third front is illusory,the fourth can be no different.”

“One of the foremost contributions of the BJP to Indian polity is that it ended the Congress hegemony and made it bipolar. No government is now possible in the country without the support of the BJP or the Congress,” he said.

Predicting a bright prospect for the NDA in the elections,Advani said in the past one month the UPA had “disintegrated” to our advantage.

“Even we suffered a loss when BJD parted ways with us in Orissa. Though there were no major differences between us,they miscalculated their strength and thought they can do without us. They will realise their mistake,” he said.

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The BJP leader said it was a matter of satisfaction for him that it was his party that was setting the election agenda in the country.

“In the context of Kashmir,we made national security the agenda. We made restoration of democracy the agenda when emergency was clamped and we set the agenda when we raised the issue of pseudo secularism,” he said.

Stating that good governance,development and national security formed the election agenda of the opposition alliance this time,he said the NDA governments in Bihar,Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan and Uttarakhand had been able to remove the stigma of their being “Bimaru” states and were rapidly progressing on the path of development.

“I feel especially happy for Bihar where our government led by Nitish Kumar has extricated the state from a chaotic condition after 15 years of RJD rule. Just a few years ago it appeared unthinkable,” he said.