New Delhi, December 11
BJP General Secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said development would be the main poll plank of the party in the Lok Sabha elections next year even as it would not hesitate to counter the Opposition on Hindutva issues like Ayodhya.
“People want development. This has been amply demonstrated in the just-concluded Assembly poll in four states. So, obviously, our main poll plank will be development and on which we are on a strong wicket,” Mr Naqvi said in an interview to The Tribune here.
“Earlier, our critics used to say the BJP could win elections only on Hindutva issues. But, we have proved them wrong in these elections,” he said, adding in a lighter vein, “BJP can bat on any wicket, whether Hindutva wicket or development wicket.”
As far as Hindutva issues like Ayodhya, Article 370 and Uniform Civil Code are concerned, the party’s stand was very clear and there was no need for the party to be apologetic about it. “We do not want to make Hindutva the poll issue, but we will not hesitate or be apologetic to counter our opponents,” Mr Naqvi added.
Terming news reports about the possibility of early Lok Sabha elections as speculative, the BJP General Secretary, in charge of elections in Delhi, said, “Our effort is to utilise the remaining 10 months to widen further the feel-good factor of the Vajpayee government by initiating more development activities in the country”.
Asked whether the Lok Sabha would be dissolved only after presenting a soft Budget, Mr Naqvi maintained that in an election year, the Budget did not hold any big significance as people formed a perception that it was an election Budget.
Asked to comment on the blame game which had begun in Delhi after the party under the leadership of Mr Madan Lal Khurana failed to wrest power, Mr Naqvi said, “It is wrong to blame Mr Khurana. He worked very hard and it was he who activated the party cadres in the national capital. So, he deserves credit for that.”
As for the outcome in the Delhi elections, Mr Naqvi said the Congress took advantage of the lot of development work done by the Vajpayee government.
“Ms Shiela Dikshit managed to take credit for the CNG pumps, metro rails and several roads and bridges totally sponsored and implemented by the Central Government. We, as a party, failed to push this fact into the mind of the voters in Delhi,” the BJP leader said.
On whether Mr Khurana would retain his Lok Sabha seat or take over as the Leader of the Opposition in Delhi, Mr Naqvi said the party’s central leaders strongly believed that he should retain the Lok Sabha seat as the BJP had lost two MPs in the Lower House by way of Ms Uma Bharti and Ms Vasundhara Raje, who had become Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, respectively.
