Addressing a public meeting at the Kankaria Football Ground here on Friday, he asked the people to choose from opportunism, dynasty and nationalism. Advani told the gathering that if the BJP won, then India stood to win, where it would be counted of in this world.

He said that the present government, of Sonia Gandhi and not Manmohan Singh, was a total failure with not a single achievement to show, which was an “all-time record”. He appealed to the people to vote for a “determined leader and honest government”.

He said it pained him to see that the Congress allies were abandoning it one by one. “Kya tamasha hai? (What is this drama?),” he said about allies offering the Congress very few seats in states like UP and Bihar. He said it was good that Sonia made it clear she would not become the PM herself. On Singh being projected as PM, he said the Prime Minister must be one who is elected to the Lok Sabha and if need be, the BJP would bring a Constitutional amendment to ensure this. Advani also pointed out “injustice” to Gujarat on matters like coastal security and not approving the GUJCOC Bill, and said partisan discrimination was the enemy of federalism. He said what the US did post 9/11, India could do post 26/11, but that needed courage.

Interestingly, both Advani and Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was also present at the meeting, maintained a stoic silence over the cancellation of Maya Kodnani’s anticipatory bail in the Godhra riot case as well as on the objectionable remarks of Varun Gandhi.

Modi furthered Advani’s attack on Singh and gave instances to bring home the point. He told party workers to carry the message of “choose from opportunism, dynasty and nationalism, the last being the BJP’s icon” to the electorate.

The CM said there cannot be a weaker Prime Minister than Singh who could not remove a senior minister for not attending a single Cabinet meeting for one full year. He also wondered if it was just a coincidence that at the time of both the Harshad Mehta scam and the recent Satyam scam, Singh was holding important posts at the Centre.

He objected to the UPA government approaching the US after the 26/11 attack instead of going to Pakistan with evidence. In an apparent challenge to Singh, Modi sought to prove that he himself was more popular than the former. “When I had gone out of the country just for three days, questions were being asked where has Modi gone. But no one cared even as Singh remained away from his office for two months,” he said.

Ridiculing the Congress claims of popularity, he said the party has no foothold in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and four southern states, and wondered how far the publicity blitz would take it in the absence of electoral space.