I didn’t expect such a landslide victory: Advani

The Gujarat election results surprised even Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who spent the morning surfing news channels on TV.‘&#145...

The Gujarat election results surprised even Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who spent the morning surfing news channels on TV.

‘‘During my campaign in the state, I never had any doubt about a renewed mandate. But even I did not expect such a landslide victory,’’ admitted the Deputy PM, in an interview to The Indian Express. ‘‘Even when the Prime Minister had asked me about my assessment, I had told him seat-wise it should be somewhere between 95- 100.”

Not happy with the Congress and the Opposition accusing the BJP of using the hindutva card, Advani said: ‘‘They are making the charge, in a manner, as if there is something wrong in it, as if hindutva is bad.’’

Story continues below this ad

‘‘Unfortunately due to considerations of votebank politics, for many in the country, especially political leaders, secularism has become an euphemism for minorities,’’ he said. ‘‘It was not easy for the BJP workers in Gujarat to resist the temptation of recalling the Godhra incident. Yet, they did it since it was a party decision,’’ said the Deputy PM.

The BJP tried to get away from Godhra and focus on cross-border terrorism. ‘‘For us the issue was ‘Atankvaad hatao’, while for the Congress it was ‘Modi hatao’. It is a repetition of what we had seen in the 1971 elections,’’ he said.