Communists should reflect on their decline: Advani

By Our Staff Reporter

THRISSUR, MAY 6. The Union Home Minister and BJP leader, Mr. L.K. Advani, has said that the Communists should seriously reflect on how their party was now confined to mere three States from a position where it had strong roots in all the States of the country in the pre-Independent and immediate post-Independent periods.

Addressing an election meeting of the candidates fielded by the BJP-led NDA in Thrissur district, here today, Mr. Advani recalled that the Communists used to get elected with big majority in West Bengal and Kerala, and had made their presence felt even in States such as Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Veteran Communist leaders like S.A. Dange used to get elected from Bombay in Maharashtra, and S.M. Banerjee from Uttar Pradesh. There was practically no State in the country where the Communists did not have a substantial backing. But now the situation in the States other than Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura is that the Communists cannot win even a local body elections on their own.

Marxism has now disappeared from the world, even in those countries like Russia which were ruled by the followers of that ideology for decades together. In India, they have now been confined to mere two or three States, Mr. Advani said.

The BJP on the other hand had only three seats when it was formed as the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1952. Even in 1984, the BJP had only two seats in the Lok Sabha. But the party has now grown to become the ruling party at the Centre within such a short period because of the tenacity and commitment of the workers. No party has grown in such rapid pace anywhere in the world, he claimed.

According to him, this fast growth was possible for the BJP because of its commitment to cultural nationalism, democracy and value-based politics. Emphasising that the keyword to success in any field was `credibility', Mr. Advani said the main strength of the BJP Government at the Centre led by Mr. A.B. Vajpayee was its credibility, and anything that erodes the credibility will be immediately corrected by the party.

Vote bank politics

Launching a broadside against the two coalitions in Kerala, the UDF and LDF, Mr. Advani said despite the high literacy, the people of Kerala had to leave the State for employment because the two Fronts which were ruling the State alternately had no interest in the development of the State. Their interests were only to expand their stranglehold in the body polity of Kerala. For this, they had no qualms in encouraging fissiparous tendencies and exploiting the caste and communal vote bank politics.

He appealed to the electorate of Kerala to understand the metamorphosis that has happened at the national level where people have elected a party and a leader with credibility, and to follow that line. ``I appeal to the voters of Kerala to ensure that the BJP opens its account in Kerala Assembly in an impressive manner, and bring about a radical change in the political situation of the State,'' he said.

The Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, Mr. Anantha Kumar, in his speech said while the CPI(M) which was leading the LDF was only interested in pursuing the interests of the party cadres alone, the senior Congress leader, Mr. K. Karunakaran, was keen only to corner all positions for his family members.

He said the LDF rule had ruined the economy, agriculture and commerce of the State while the UDF is burdened with the internal conflicts of the Congress. In such a context, the real option before the people will be to vote for the BJP-led NDA.

The BJP district president, Mr. Sreesan Adiyat, presided. The BJP candidate in Thrissur Assembly segment, Mr. Gopalakrishnan, was among those who spoke on the occasion. Mr. Advani also introduced all the 14 NDA candidates in the district.

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Section  : State Elections
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