Will work towards fulfiling Vajpayee's dreams: Rajnath

Pitches himself as deserving successor to the legacy of ailing patriarch of BJP

Virendra Singh Rawat Lucknow
Last Updated : Mar 26 2014 | 10:54 PM IST
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh on Wednesday invoked Atal Behari Vajpayee in the home turf of Lucknow by pitching himself as the deserving successor to the legacy of the ailing patriarch of the saffron party.

Rajnath is contesting from Lucknow in the coming Lok Sabha poll. The VIP constituency was vacated by Vajpayee in 2009, when his trusted lieutenant Lalji Tandon was elected.

Addressing a packed news conference here, Rajnath said he would work towards fulfilling Vajpayee’s dreams of developing Lucknow as ‘Biotech City’ and ensuring a cleaner Gomti river.

Also Read

“Atal ji had dreamt of linking all the rivers and if elected from Lucknow, I would make efforts for linking Gomti and Sharda rivers for ensuring a cleaner Gomti,” he added.

This was Rajnath’s maiden visit to Lucknow after the announcement of his candidature from the constituency.

He claimed Tandon had himself offered the Lucknow seat to him and subsequently, the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) also sealed his candidature from the seat.

Exuding confidence that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would achieve its goal of 272+ seats in poll, he noted people were drifting towards the party due to the failure of the Congress on multiple fronts, including internal security, inflation, corruption, poverty, etc.

On the denial of ticket to some senior party leaders and fielding turncoats, he said elections were fought on strategy and it was part of the strategy that was getting replicated on the ground.

“There would always be a large number of people wanting to fight election when a party is getting popular. But only one can get the ticket. Not getting ticket does not mean that that the worker has been ignored . However, it is the prerogative of the CEC to decide on candidature,” he said, adding such leaders could be accommodated on important positions after elections.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Mar 26 2014 | 8:27 PM IST

Next Story