BJP confident of winning Assam polls: Nitin Gadkari

Mumbai, April 26: BJP is confident of forming the next government in Assam and doing reasonably well in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pudduchery and West Bengal, party president Nitin Gadkari said.

"BJP received a good response during campaigning and we are confident of leading the next non-Congress government in Assam," Gadkari said addressing a meeting of the city BJP last night.

"Even though Tamil Nadu and Kerala are difficult, we will have reasonably enough members in the state assemblies and the election results will help in the organisational and political expansion of the party in these states," he added.

Election results in the five states will be declared on May 13. Gadkari predicted major political upheavals in the coming days. The party is working hard and the election results will prove that substantial gains have been made, he added.

The BJP president claimed that situation will not remain the same in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the two states which were instrumental in the formation of the Congress-led UPA government in 2004 and 2009.

"Congress won 33 Lok Sabha seats (in Andhra Pradesh) in 2009. Now, it will not even get three. In Tamil Nadu, there are problems galore for the party. Situation in Uttar Pradesh is also changing," he said.

Gadkari said the party aims to win 200 Lok Sabha seats on its own in 2014. "Preparations in this direction are already underway," he said adding that the 21st century politics was the politics of progress and development.

Asserting that price rise, corruption and black money will be the three main issues of the BJP, Gadkari said he cannot assure that things will be set right immediately after a BJP-led government takes charge at the Centre.

"At least our intentions are clear. Our state governments are doing well and we are giving the necessary directions to our workers. We have to work on organisational and political level, formulate our election strategy and work on expansion of the organisation," he added.

Gadkari said sycophancy had no place in the party and only ideology was important.

"Election tickets will be given to only those people, who have masses on their side. In Bihar, we gave 95 tickets purely on merit."

In last year's Bihar Assembly polls, BJP contested 102 seats and won 91.

Gadkari said BJP's mission is to free the country of corruption.

"When NDA was in power, it made open ballot system for Rajya Sabha polls and also brought in anti-defection law," he added.

The BJP leader said the country was facing internal and, external security threats, and the menace of corruption was growing.

"Instead of seeing politics as a career, we have to see that we work for bringing about a change in the society and not practise politics just for power," he added.

PTI