PANAJI : Maintaining that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will not face India Shining-like scenario at the forthcoming assembly elections scheduled to take place in five states including Goa, as clearly indicated by various media surveys as well as the ground reality existing in these five states, the national BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao on Monday said that his party is confident about winning this election by a margin of 5-nil, and securing two-third majority in Goa by clinching 26 seats.
It may be recalled that India Shining was a marketing slogan used by the BJP at the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, which referred to the overall feeling of economic optimism in India at that time. The slogan had however backfired on the party.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters in the city, Rao said that the prediction of success of his party at the forthcoming assembly polls is based on the new politics that has arrived into the country through good governance of the BJP, which speaks about positive, progressive and performance-based politics. “It is therefore clear that the BJP will sweep the elections in the five states of Punjab, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Uttarakhand,” he reiterated.
Speaking further, Rao appealed to the Goan voters not to vote for Congress party, alleging that the party plays “regressive, vote bank and corruption-based politics.” He also termed the MGP (Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party) as “Maximum Grab Party”, charging that the MGP leaders are hoping for a hung assembly so that they could turn into “political traders” and carry out “political auctions.”
The national BJP spokesperson also said that for the first time in the history of Indian politics, two Goans have got berths in the Union cabinet, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar emerging as one of the top leaders of the country. “Therefore, the people of Goa should think properly and keep power-hungry political parties like Congress and MGP at bay and ensure that the BJP government returns to power in Goa with comfortable majority,” he concluded.