Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Saturday said he was confident that his party will come to power in the forthcoming assembly elections in Uttaranchal on February 21.
The BJP president said the media had wrongly projected that the party would not challenge the Congress in the state.
"Now they are saying that we are in the contest. I am saying that we will get a comfortable majority and form the next government. As to who will be the chief minister, there is a process and we will let you know the name as soon as it is over," Rajnath told rediff.com after addressing a gathering at the Khatima assembly segment in the state
"We want the government of the state to find a solution to the tribal land, which cannot be sold to non-tribals. If the BJP is voted to power, a solution will be found," he added.
The BJP is not taking any chances and has decided to field former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani to match Prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi in campaigning.
But the thrust of the campaign continues to be on the Garwal region, which gives 41 out of the 70 assembly seats. Hence, the party has scheduled Vajpayee's meeting hours before the campaign closes on February 19 at Srinagar in Tehri Garwal while Rajnath, Advani and other leaders will take care of rest of the state.
Rajnath also accused the media of manufacturing stories to suit their likes and dislikes.
Denying any rift between him and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "Modiji is an important functionary of the party and no one can ignore him. I have been talking to him off and on phone. The trouble with the media is when you do not take a decision they say Rajnath does not have the guts. When I do take a decision, people create stories of rift."
It may be recalled that there had been reports in the media on the widening gap between Rajnath and Modi after the latter's name was missing from the newly-announced parliamentary board.
Responding to Advani's statement Dehradun that Rajnath had been given a free hand, the BJP president said that he indeed had a free hand but had consulted party stalwarts like former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpapyee, Advani and other senior leaders before finalising his new team.
He feigned ignorance when asked why Arun Jaitley was upset with him.
"I am not aware of it. He has been attending the meetings of the party as party general secretary. He is not addressing the media because we have spokespersons in place, but he would do so as and when required," Rajnath clarified.
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