BJP working on improving strength in South, NE: Rajnath

BJP President Rajnath Singh has said his party will focus on improving its electoral prospects in the southern states and the North-East in the next general elections as part of the NDA's efforts to win more seats and wrest power from the Congress-led UPA coalition.
"We have had our government in Karnataka and we will try to retain the number of seats we had won last time. Our performance in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu can improve from what it was last time and efforts are on for that. As for the North-East, four MPs won from there last time and I hope that the number will not decrease," Singh told PTI in an interview.

He was replying to a question on the NDA's prospects in the South and the North-East in the next general elections.
Many feel the party's performance in Karnataka may go down in the Lok Sabha polls due to the constant infighting in the BJP-led government in the state. This has dented the image of the party.
Singh accepted that the exit of former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa from BJP to form a new party may affect his party's performance.
"We cannot determine the quantum of loss, but even if some loss has taken place we would try to regain it," he said.

Singh maintained that in the 2014 general elections his party would not just highlight the failures of the Congress- led UPA government but also emphasise on programmes that it will implement if voted to power.

"We will tell the people what all we will do if we form government at the Centre," he said.
Singh said the Congress-led government has failed on every front. "They have failed on the economic, security and diplomatic front. But we won't contest elections on the basis of this government's failure, not just negatives but we will fight the elections on political issues also," he said.

He maintained that there is a need for BJP to make its organisational network "more active and effective".