“I have had a ringside view of all the governments since 1950 and UPA is the worst that the people of the country have had. Dr Manmohan Singh is the Prime Minister but actually it is a government run by Soniaji,” said the Prime Ministerial candidate of BJP.

 “Since Pandit Nehru’s times, this is the first time that a government can not talk of any significant achievement in the last five years. It’s been a government of failures—- on security, economy and job fronts,” Advani added.     

He also accused the Congress and the CPM in Bengal of forging a secret deal for survival.  “You be in Delhi, let us be in Bengal, this is the agreement between the Communists and the Congress,” said Advani, accusing both the parties for devastating situation of the country after five years of UPA. As per the secret agreement, Congress is the CPM’s team B in Bengal and the Communists are the Congress’s B team in other parts of the country, he added.    

“Had it not been for the Communist support after the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress would not have been in power. We had 138 seats and the Congress had 145,” Advani said.

 “In West Bengal, development has stalled under the totalitarian rule of CPM for 30 years,” he said. Significantly, he did not mention her former NDA ally Mamata Banerjee during her speech. 

Later in the day, Rajya Sabha member of BJP Chandan Mitra said: “ Since Mamata Banerjee has forged an alliance with the Congress, she too is part of the Congress B team in the state. We are not looking for any alliance with her now. But post-poll options are open.”

Sikdar back in BJP

Tapan Sikdar, former president of the BJP’s West Bengal unit and former minister of state for Telecommunications in the NDA-led government, rejoined the party in the presence of L K Advani at an election rally at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Friday afternoon. Sikdar, one of the most popular BJP leaders in Bengal, had left the party in 2005 after differences cropped up on various issues with state leadership.

His return was greeted with thunderous applause by thousands of BJP supporters. After leaving the BJP, Sikdar had joined the Lok Jana Shakti party of Uma Bharati and was in-charge of its Bengal unit. 

Sikdar had created electoral history in Bengal by wresting the Dum Dum Lok Sabha seat in 1998 and 1999 from the CPM. Dum Dum had been a stronghold of the CPM. He, however, lost to Amitava Nandy of CPM in 2004.