IANS
NEW DELHI, MARCH 20
The BJP is poised to score “a decisive victory” in Assam and has strengthened its position in Kerala, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party hoped to improve its position “significantly” in the five states going to the polls in April-May including Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
“In Assam, our alliance (with AGP) is effective. We will score a decisive victory,” Jaitley told reporters on the second day of the BJP National Exectuvie meeting.
The BJP has never been a leading player in any of the five states.
“In Kerala, we have strengthened our position. The politics in Kerala has changed.
“As far as West Bengal is concerned, we will try to increase our vote share,” Jaitley said.
“We will improve our performance significantly in the assembly polls.”
The political resolution was moved by union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu and seconded by party general secretary Saroj Pandey.
Taking a dig at the Congress, Jaitley said: “The Congress position in these states is clearly evident. I think the Congress has lowered its level of ambition and is quite content to become a tail of the alliance.”
Jaitley also spoke on the situation in Uttarakhand after nine Congress legislators rebelled against Chief Minister Harish Rawat and joined hands with the BJP.
“There was a deep division in the Congress in Uttarakhand and it should not be attributed to the BJP,” he said.
He criticised Uttarakhand Speaker G.S. Kunjwal for his decision to pass the budget by voice vote.
The two-day BJP meet will conclude on Sunday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address.
