Congress claims victory on eve of Gujarat final round polling

Dec 15, 2007, 15:01 GMT

Ahmedabad, Dec 15 (IANS) An upbeat Congress party Saturday claimed it was set to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the closely contested Gujarat assembly elections whose second and final round will be held Sunday.

Talking to reporters, the Congress top brass in the state comprising union ministers Shankarsinh Vaghela and Dinsha Patel, state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki and leader of opposition in the state assembly Arjun Modhvadia said the people had seen through the mask of lies worn by the BJP and were going to vote for change.

The Congress projected that it would win at least 110 of the 182 seats - though it had won only 51 in the last polls in 2002.

'The BJP finally returned to campaign on the lines of its hidden agenda once its development plank failed,' said Solanki.

Vaghela was critical of the Narendra Modi government and said there was a wave of change in Gujarat.

'By not responding to the charges of corruption levelled against them by the Congress during the campaign, they (the BJP leadership) have accepted these charges,' he said.

'Throughout the campaign Modi has just talked about himself. People vote for a party and not for an individual. The people of Gujarat do not like the language he has been using to challenge the Congress president (Sonia Gandhi). Now the people will tear the BJP apart,' he said.

© 2007 Indo-Asian News Service