NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE

Concluding remarks by

Shri L.K. Advani
Leader of the Opposition (Lok Sabha)

At a meeting of NDA leaders and Chief Ministers
New Delhi – 22 January 2008

Today’s meeting has indeed been a significant milestone in the current political developments in the country. For the first time after the May 2004 Lok Sabha elections, all the leaders of the constituent parties of the NDA and all the chief ministers of NDA-ruled states have come together to deliberate on a common strategy for the next parliamentary elections.

I sincerely convey my gratitude to all my colleagues in the alliance for reposing their trust in me by entrusting the responsibility of leading the NDA in the next Lok Sabha elections. I assure you that I shall do my utmost to discharge this responsibility successfully, and seek your continued support and cooperation in the challenging tasks ahead.

At the outset, I would like to heartily thank our leader, my senior colleague for over five decades, and the chairman of the NDA, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on this occasion. I shall continue to seek, as I have done for the past five decades, his wise and inspirational guidance in the discharge of my responsibilities.

I would also like to specially thank Shri George Fernandes, convenor of the NDA, and Shri Rajnath Singh, president of the BJP.

The birth and evolution of the NDA is not an ordinary phenomenon. With the Bharatiya Janata Party as its strong and central pillar, the NDA represents one of the most outstanding developments in the political history of post-independence India . It indicates the maturing of Indian democracy in the direction of Good Governance, Development and Comprehensive Security.

Sounding the bugle for change

With this meeting, the NDA has sounded the bugle of battle against the failed, non-performing, corrupt and internally divided government of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance. It should be our goal not only to ensure the NDA’s victory, but also to make the Congress suffer the worst defeat in its history. I say so because the long misrule of the Congress, and its institutionalized arrogance that it alone has the birth-right to rule India , are at the root of most of the problems our country is facing today.

The fact that this meeting is taking place at the beginning of 2008 reinforces this intent. It demonstrates our determination to make 2008 the Year of Change at the Centre, whose concrete manifestation will be the defeat of the UPA, and return of the NDA with a decisive mandate, whenever the people get the opportunity to elect the 15 th Lok Sabha.

People are in a mood to give us a mandate again. Now we have to assure them that we shall match their aspirations with our unity, resolve and a winning campaign strategy. We have to show them that we are not only worthy of winning their mandate but also competent enough of converting it into an opportunity for India to take a big leap forward.

UPA govt’s record: Betrayal and all-round failure

A government that has betrayed the aam aadmi, is responsible for unprecedented price rise drilling big holes in the meager family budgets of millions of ordinary Indians, has been insensitive to the plight of crores of kisans, has caused the widest ever rich-poor divide in India’s history, provided protection and patronage to corruption and criminalization, and utterly failed in its duty to counter terrorism and naxalism, is not a government that the people of India would want again. And they would certainly not want the prolongation of a government headed nominally by a Prime Minister who commands no political authority and whose writ does not run even over his own cabinet, allies and supporting parties.

Internal contradictions and weak leadership have been coded into the DNA of the UPA government since its inception. As a result, it has never functioned as a vibrant and cohesive entity with a clear vision. Nevertheless, its performance in the year gone by shows that it is currently in a state of total paralysis.

Congress party, the main constituent of the UPA, has been losing ground all over the country. Of the 14 states in which Vidhan Sabha elections were held between 2005-2007, the Congress has been able to form its governments in only four states ― Assam , Manipur, Haryana and Goa , which together account for 28 Lok Sabha seats. Congress party’s only victory in 2007 was in Goa , where its government recently teetered on the brink of collapse. It has suffered humiliating defeats in the two most recent Vidhan Sabha elections ― Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The Congress defeat in Gujarat , in particular, has had a nationwide impact since it had turned the Assembly elections in the state into a virtual national referendum against the BJP.

NDA is the only alternative

All the above-mentioned factors are together prompting the people of India to conclude that (a) the nation’s vital interests and people’s wellbeing are not safe in the hands of the UPA; and (b) the NDA, which had provided a stable, cohesive and result-oriented government under the able leadership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998-2004, is the only alternative.

Today, as the leaders and chief ministers of the NDA meet, we pledge to once again dedicate ourselves to the ideals of Good Governance, Development and Security. In the weeks and months to follow, the leaders and workers of the constituent parties of our alliance will reach out to all the areas of our vast country and all the sections of our diverse society.

We shall also emphasize the achievements, policies, programmes and future promises of our state governments. We have decided to hold a meeting of all the NDA chief ministers on the agenda of Good Governance, Development and Security.

Immediate challenges

Until very recently, it had seemed that parliamentary elections might take place in the first half of 2008. However, as I mentioned earlier, the fear of the NDA returning to power has in all probability made both the Congress and the Communists reluctant to precipitate early elections.

As things stand today, elections might take place at their scheduled time in early 2009 or in the latter half of this year. The NDA should be prepared ― is indeed prepared ― for the electoral battle whenever it takes place.

Our immediate task is to prepare ourselves for success in the several Vidhan Sabha elections scheduled to be held in 2008. The earliest is going to be in Karnataka, where the Congress must be defeated. Talking about Karnataka polls, I urge the government not to think of any ploy to postpone them.

We must chalk out a plan for a sustained campaign of agitation and mass-education on issues concerning the nation and common people. The forthcoming Budget session of Parliament should also be effectively used for this purpose.