Leaders make efforts to improve prospects for polls

Rajahmundry: Given the growing disenchantment against the Congress, especially in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions following its decision favouring bifurcation of the state to carve out a separate Telangana and principal opposition Telugu Desam’s failure to revive the party in a robust manner, the BJP is making all out efforts to gain ground by using ‘Modi Mantra’ in the ensuing general elections in the state.

The BJP in fact claims credit by saying that a large number of both sitting and former MPs, MLAs and MLCs and others including businessmen, industrialists and professionals from other parties are forming a beeline to join the party in the very presence of the party’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Party sources maintain that the party leadership is preparing a list of aspirants willing to join the party after verifying their credentials, social groups and their winning chances in the polls and after carrying out such an exercise, it will allow the aspirants to join the party at an appropriate time.

As aspirant for an MP ticket from Seemandhra region even wanted to join the party by taking out a huge procession with the support of nearly 50,000 supporters belonging to the SC community in the presence of the party’s senior leader Narendra Modi.

About 10 aspirants for MP tickets from other parties including sitting and former MPs and MLAs are willing to join the party soon as the general elections are round the corner, in order to reach out to the people in their assigned segments and win the confidence of the people to support them in the polls.

The BJP leaders maintain that the people are trusting the leadership of party’s prime ministerial nominee Naren-dra Modi to lead the country in the path of development and prog-ress as the Congress-led UPA-II was plagued with graft, nepotism, indecisiveness on several issues and also weak leadership.

They say that though the Congress is trying to project its vice-president Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate in the ensuing polls, he is no a longer a perfect match to the BJP’s nominee Narendra Modi as he led the party to power for three consecutive terms in Gujarat and showed how development could be taken up. Rahul is a political novice and lacks any administrative skills to lead the nation, they contend.

Meanwhile, the Telugu Desam is making efforts to keep its flock together and the party leadership is learnt to have issued directions to the senior leaders to ensure that no one should be allo-wed to leave the party and also to join especially the BJP.

As speculation is rife on political alliance between the BJP and the Telugu Desam in the ensuing polls, the BJP leaders maintain that it is not so easy as the latter defamed the party following its earlier alliance and even cau-sed the conduct of polls nearly six months earlier during the regime of Atal Behari Vajpayee.

BJP national executive committee member Somu Veerraju said, “Many people are showing interest to join our party and we are confident to improve our electoral prospects in the ensuing polls.”