BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj (right) and Smriti Irani at the meeting. (PTI)

New Delhi, June 2: As L.K. Advani spoke at the concluding session of the BJP’s national executive meet this evening, the swagger of a Prime Minister-in-waiting was more striking than the content of his speech.

The leader of the Opposition altered party chief Rajnath Singh’s “frontrunner” theme to hum the “clear winner” tune.

“The BJP’s resurgence is not merely our own subjective wish, it has become an objective necessity of India’s democracy and progress,” Advani said, suggesting the series of poll defeats were an indictment of the Congress.

India can’t be safe and can’t progress under a paralysed government led by a party with no vision and supported by opportunists, he said.

Expectations of the BJP’s return to power animated the conference. But the resolutions adopted exposed the leadership’s confusion on vital issues, not the best advertisement of a party that says it is ready to govern the country.

The government was criticised for failure on foreign and domestic affairs but the BJP had no alternative vision to offer.

Most surprising was the casual way in which the Indo-US nuclear deal was handled in the resolution on foreign policy and national security. “The Congress can, on its own, resolve this issue simply by taking a stand — for or against. Why does it not do so?” the party asked, sounding almost as if it was egging on the government to go ahead with the deal ignoring opposition from the BJP and Left.

The resolution criticised the policy on Nepal, Pakistan and China but didn’t explain what the Centre should have done.

Again, while accusing the government of mismanaging the economy, the BJP failed to produce an alternative plan.

Like most other speakers whose speeches were high on rhetoric and low on content, Advani wallowed in the recent victories in Gujarat and Karnataka The only issue where he appeared to be breaking fresh ground was in his call to co-opt new sections of society.

“It should be our endeavour to reach out to every section of society, including Muslims and Christians, who have so far remained aloof from the BJP,” he said.

The party’s working committee discussed strategies for the general election. All state units were asked to get into election mode, the pep talk capped with Advani’s campaign slogan: “Jeetega Bhajpa, Jeetega Bharat.” This echoed Narendra Modi’s winning “Jeetega Gujarat” theme.