BJP confident of winning Assembly elections in Karnataka

Kolkata, Nov 29 (UNI) Demanding Assembly elections in Karnataka at the earliest, the BJP today said it was confident of a victory.

''We welcome the dissolution of the Karnataka Assembly and demand that the elections are held at the earliest. We are confident that the BJP will come to power,'' the party's former President Venkaiah Naidu said while addressing a press conference.

He claimed that the Janata Dal(S) would be 'wiped out' and the Congress would get a 'fitting reply' if the Assembly polls were held immediately.

In reply to a question on Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's indication to keep the BJP out of her proposed secular democratic front to fight the CPI(M) in the West Bengal Panchayat polls, Mr Naidu said his party would fight the elections on its own if there was no unity among the non-Left forces.

''We are against a split in the anti-Left votes and want all non-communist forces to join hands to oust the marxists. If the parties don't come forward, we will go ahead on our own,'' he said.

The Trinamool Congress chief had given a call yesterday to all secular and democratic parties, including the smaller partners in the Left Front, to float a front and fight the CPI(M).

UNI