Sushma Swaraj roars for 'Freedom from Congress'

With turban, posters of lions, Sushma Swaraj roars for 'Freedom from Congress'

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj , credited with being a powerful orator, used a party function in Delhi today to tell women from her party what she wants from them. Wearing a saffron turban and with a large poster of roaring lions in the background, she said, "We couldn't be part of the freedom struggle, we were born after 1947, but now be part of the freedom from Congress battle".

          She declared that, "The Rani of Jhansi fought to liberate India from the British. Today, we women will fight to liberate India from Congress".  Ms. Swaraj is among the opposition's big hitters, and is widely seen as someone whose chances at winning her party's prime ministerial nomination have been somewhat muted by the recent ascension of Narendra Modi from Gujarat to the national political landscape.

The 61-year-old is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and is close to BJP veteran LK Advani, who resisted June's move to make Mr. Modi the leader in charge of the party's election campaign. Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, president of the Shiv Sena, which is one of the BJP's oldest ally, had said recently that his party would prefer to see Ms. Swaraj as the opposition's choice for presumptive prime minister.

Mr. Modi, who is in his fourth term as Gujarat Chief Minister, is accused by detractors of failing to do enough to stop the communal riots in 2002 which killed hundreds of Muslims in his state. He recently said that he is satisfied that his administration and he had expended their best efforts in trying to stop the violence.

His critics within the party - and allies like Mr. Thackeray -feel that the blot of the riots makes Mr. Modi an unviable partner for regional parties who lean on Muslim voters. Without them, the opposition coalition fronted by the BJP - the National Democratic Alliance or NDA - may find it tough to pose a muscular challenge to the incumbent coalition anchored by the Congress.