Sushma, who started her speech in Kannada, said she had come to Bellary to protect the self-respect of the Indians. She said though Bellary had continuously elected Congress candidates since Independence, all of them were Indians. She asked the people to elect an Indian this time too.

She also promised to learn Kannada in 13 days and interact with the people in their native language. Comparing the present election to the Mahabharatha, Sushma said Sonia had thought that Bellary would be a safe constituency. However, she would now have to fight a Dharma Sangharsha here. Sushma also derided the fact that Sonia was contesting from Bellary not to represent the constituency but to become the Prime Minister.

Sushma said Sonia Gandhi had started her electoral process withlies. First, the Congress misled the people by saying Sonia would contest in Cuddapah and then shifted to Bellary. Then, they insisted that Sonia would contest from Cuddapah too. She wanted to know the reactions of the people of Bellary to this kind of confusion.

Sushma conceded that Sonia Gandhi was loved and respected as the daughter-in-law of the country. But to trust her with the Prime Minister's seat was impossible.

The anti-Congress unity was visible at the function where BJP's new poll campaign office was inaugurated on Sunday. For the first time since the alliance materialised, the Janata Dal (United) -- represented by MLC N Thippanna and Rural Development Minister M P Prakash -- shared the dais with BJP leaders, represented by Sushma herself and MLC D H Shankaramurthy.

Sushma, Prakash and Thippanna jointly participated in the Ganapathy Pooja amid vedic chants that invoked divine blessings for Sushma's success. The `aarti' was performed to the portraits of Lord Ganesh, Goddess Saraswati, BharathMata, Jana Sangha leader Deenadayal Upadhyaya and Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Thippanna, who withdrew his nomination on Saturday to make way for Sushma, said he was glad to opt out of the contest. ``If I were to fight (against Sonia) I would have been nowhere'', Thippanna -- who has lost four Lok Sabha elections from Bellary -- admitted.