Udupi (The Hindu): 'Udupi is special for me as it was here the Jan Sangh made first foray in South India'. L.K. Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, said here on Sunday that he was happy to participate in the fifth Paryaya of Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt, which he described as a “rare event.”

Speaking to presspersons here, Mr. Advani said that he was associated with the Pejawar seer for a long time. When he (Mr. Advani) was invited to participate in the fifth Paryaya function, he deemed it a matter of “great pride and privilege,” he said.

Mr. Advani said that coming to Udupi was special for him for another reason. It was in Udupi that the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS), the earlier avatar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), won the Udupi Town Municipal Council (TMC) elections in 1968.

This victory was hailed by the BJS throughout the country as it was the party’s first foray into South India. Till then, the BJS had not won any urban local body election in South India. “But, it became a still happier event when the Udupi TMC was later declared the best-run body in the State,” he said.

Mr. Advani said that during his brief stay here, he would meet the office-bearers of the party from the region and the State. “We are determined to see that the party keeps doing the work that it has been created for and serving the people in every possible way,” he said.

Photo credit: The Hindu