BJP will retain power in Madhya Pradesh: Tomar

Bhopal, Nov 8: Claiming that the BJP would retain power in Madhya Pradesh, State BJP president Naredra Singh Tomar today said the party believed in bringing change through development.

''The BJP is an ideology-based and mass-based party that does not just believe in forming government but in changing system through government,'' Mr Tomar told UNI here.

He said development achieved and public-welfare schemes launched in the past five years were main poll planks of the party that could make any other party look small.

The BJP has fielded candidates from 229 Assembly seats, while it was supporting its NDA ally JD(U) candidate Saroj Bachchan Nayak from Bahoriband seat.

Replying to a question, Mr Tomar claimed that the party had no information about rebel candidates contesting from anywhere.

Though applications had been received by some leaders, they would be pacified.

On whether the Uma Bharti-led Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS) could cause loss to the party, he said the BJP had direct contest with the Congress which it was capable of defeating. No other party posed challenge.

The BJP leader said the party was ready to go for Assembly polls. Party workers along with state level and national BJP leaders would make best efforts for victory.

Parrying questions about how many seats the BJP -- which won 173 seats in the 230-seat Assembly -- hoped to bag during this Assembly election, he asked to wait.

On allegations levelled against party ministers and leaders by opposition parties, mainly the Congress, he said the Congress was ''mother of corruption, while the BJP was working to curb corruption.'' He said the party had succeeded in stopping corruption several times at top level.

About return of tribal leader Dilip Singh Bhuria to the party, Mr Tomar said Mr Bhuria had chosen the BJP as he had already described the party as mass the based.

He said the failure of Centre to control inflation, tackle terrorism and security situation were important poll issues apart from development done by the government.

UNI