Gandhinagar, Aug. 17 :     If elections in Gujarat were to be turned into a Western film, T.N. Seshan would be John Wayne. There is a lot that our cowboy from Palghat has in common with his American counterpart. Both drawl, one with a nasal twang and the other with a Tamilian timbre. Wayne shot from the hip, Seshan uses his mouth. Wayne lunched on outlaws, Seshan had ?politicians for breakfast?. With the arrival of Seshan, announced as Congress candidate from the prestigious Gandhinagar seat against BJP heavyweight L.K. Advani, electioneering in the state went into top gear. If initial reactions are anything to go by, Seshan has the potential to choke Advani: at least by his one-liners. Landing at Ahmedabad airport at 7.40, a bleary-eyed Seshan was quick to churn out his witticisms. On the two most important issues he would focus on, he said: ?I am the best candidate and I am fighting for the best party. These are the two issues. What more do you want?? On whether there was a specific reason for choosing Gandhinagar, Seshan said: ?I am a citizen of India and have the right to fight from wherever I want. Any problems?? At a hurriedly-convened but well-attended press conference, Seshan spoke as if he had learnt the Congress manifesto by rote: Kargil would not have happened had the BJP-led government not fallen under the weight of its own ineptness. ?There can be no excuse for Kargil. It was the result of an intelligence failure for which the government is solely responsible.? Claiming ?the Bofors gun was responsible for India?s victory over Pakistan in Kargil?, Seshan said: ?Everyone criticised Rajiv Gandhi for his decision to buy the Bofors gun. But Bofors brought us victory.? On the Gandhi family: ?The family has sacrificed so much for the nation. Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv. And you call her a foreigner. All I can say is that as per our laws, she is a bonafide citizen of India. And I follow the law. That?s all.? Till now, the BJP had been smirking at the Congress? inability to find someone to pit against Advani. The refusal of former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela to fight against Advani had made the BJP more gleeful. But Seshan has changed all that. Bharat Pandya, the BJP?s official spokesman in the state, put on a brave front and said: ?Seshan or no Seshan, it will make no difference to Advaniji?s result. The Congress just needed a scapegoat. If the Congress had good intentions, Seshan would have been fielded from somewhere else, not Gandhinagar, where beating Advani is impossible.? In private, though, the BJP is saying something quite different. A senior party leader said: ?Seshan has always been a hero for the middle classes. Thoda problem to hoga hi.? (There will be some problems).? The ace the Congress had concealed up its sleeve has thrown the BJP slightly off balance. BJP leaders know that Seshan cannot be ignored and are aware that they would have to work hard to thwart the threat he poses. The perception is that if a political novice like the Gujarat ex-police chief P.K. Dutta ?- contesting on a Congress ticket ?- could garner 3.5 lakh votes against Advani?s 5.4 lakh votes in Gandhinagar, Seshan might just do the incredible. Seshan, when asked how sure he was of winning, said: ?As sure as you are.? If he wins, he has promised to stay in Gandhinagar ?at least 130 days a year?. Seshan said he ?respects Advaniji as an individual?. But the home minister would do well to watch out for the former chief election commissioner?s immaculate Sanskrit and a formidable knowledge of the shastras. In addition, there are his one-liners which might seem attractive to voters bored with the same old rhetoric of veteran politicians. Asked when he had finally decided to contest against Advani, Seshan said: ?As soon as the party finalised my name.? From conductor of elections to contestor, T.N. Seshan has done it all. Poll results will tell whether Seshan the politician can ?eat? his rival for breakfast.