Leader of Opposition and BJP's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani has said 2008 will be a parivartan varsh or the ‘year of change’ when his party will be firmly back in power.

Addressing mediapersons on Friday, Advani said the BJP’s victory in Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections clearly indicated this process. “The resounding victory of the BJP in the elections to the Vidhan Sabha of Himachal Pradesh, coming in the wake of our major triumph in Gujarat a few days ago, shows that 2007 is ending with an unmistakable statement about the coming change in the political equation in the country,” the Leader of Opposition said.

Congratulating the people of Himachal Pradesh for giving a mandate to the BJP under the leadership of Prem Kumar Dhumal, Advani pointed out that the BJP’s vote share had been the highest ever in the state. Advani said while BJP's victory in Gujarat was on account of a strong pro-incumbency vote, in Himachal Pradesh, it was because of a strong anti-incumbency factor. “In both the states, the vote was against the Congress,” he said.

He said of the six Assembly elections held in 2007, the BJP won in four states—Punjab, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh—whereas the Congress won in only one. According to Advani, the BJP will win a clear majority in Karnataka where elections are expected early next year. “Everybody is aware of how the BJP, which had emerged as the single largest party in 2004, became a victim of betrayal of a venal political opportunism,” he said.

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