Give BJP a chance: Advani; cautions against rival's opportunism

BANGALORE: BJP leader L K Advani on Saturday cautioned against the threat of what he called the "virus of opportunism and betrayal" by Congress and JD(S) hitting Karnataka again and appealed to voters to give the saffron party "one chance" by giving it a clear majority.
   
"The virus of opportunism and betrayal by Congress and JD (S) played havoc with governance and development in Karnataka. The same virus is threatening to hit Karnataka's politics and governance once again", Advani said, a day after he launched the BJP campaign from Anekal.
   
The verdict of the people in Karnataka was also crucial in the sense that it would impact national politics and influence a decision on timing of the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
   
Congress and JDS are once again working on the scenario of a hung assembly so that they can replay the "unscrupulous role they played after 2004, just to keep the BJP out of power, he said." The people should not let this happen, he said.
  
"My appeal to the voters of Karnataka is straight and simple- You have so far given the Congress party many chances. You have given various formations of the Janata Dal a chance. This time, give the BJP a chance", said Advani.
   
"Give the BJP one chance, but not like 2004. We want a clear mandate, a clear majority", he said.
   
Advani said his tour of the state made him inclined to think that the people of Karnataka harboured similar views.
  
"When the people of Karnataka elect a new Vidhan Sabha this month, they have an opportunity and also an obligation unto themselves to ensure that 2004 does not repeat itself in 2008," said the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.
   
Also, Advani said that if the BJP did not muster a clear majority it preferred to sit in the opposition.
  
Advani said "Karnataka deserves much better than what it has got so far. Wherever the party is in office, it will strive for "good governance". This promise continues to be guideline of the party, he said.
   
Tracing the rise of the BJP from its roots and its rise in India, he said, the party had moved from winning seats in single digits to wielding power in the Lok Sabha. However "one point is bothering us", he said adding that the party derived its strength from the north, west and central India.
  
"The four southern states are not really with us. However, we have been observing Karnataka moving towards the BJP by winning seats in the state assembly," he said.
   
He said the urban chaos here was largely due to the lack of vision, master plan and lack of political will to create urban infrastructure and civic facilities by those who ruled the state. All these problems need to be dealt with effectively and a clear mandate to BJP will help tackle it.
   
On why the BJP had not given a ticket to a Muslim in the state despite its claims of representing various sections, Advani said candidates cannot be fielded just for the sake of doing so. Perhaps there were no such candidates that fitted into the slot. Slight difference of opinion on the list of names of candidates was expected but on the whole the names proposed had unanimous support, he said.
   
Advani said the Congress party was to be blamed for the various problems that ail the minority community, because it was the Congress that was dealing with them all these years and the party has only chosen to use the minority as a vote bank. The BJP was opposed to vote bank politics, he said.
   
Drawing cricket analogy while taking a potshot at the Congress, Advani said while BJP had been clear on who would captain the team in the state, the Congress ambiguity over the issue was like the party "deciding on the captain after the match was over".