BJP will win irrespective of poll timing: Sushma Swaraj

Nagpur, Mar 17 (UNI) BJP Spokesman Sushma Swaraj today said the party would win the next Lok Sabha elections and get a clear majority, irrespective of when the polls are held.

Speaking to reporters at a 'meet the press' programme, hosted by Nagpur Union of Working Journalists (NUWJ) here, Ms Swaraj said whether the polls were held in November 2008 or in 2009, the BJP was sure to win more than 200 seats on its own strength.

''It is a foregone conclusion that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would gain a majority,'' she said.

As the main opposition party, the BJP could not wait for 2009 to start preparing for the polls, and had, therefore, begun in right earnest, Ms Swaraj said. The timing of the poll would depend upon the attitude of the parties supporting the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), that was now in power at the Centre, she said.

Ms Swaraj said that of the states going to the polls shortly, the BJP would retain power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, wrest Delhi and form a government on its own in Karnataka.

Replying to questions, Ms Swaraj said the BJP would expose the 'bluff' of the loan waiver, announced by the UPA government. The very fact that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had deferred her visit to Vidarbha region of Maharashtra was evidence that the move had not benefitted the farmers in the worst affected area by the ongoing agrarian crisis, she added.

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