These are national elections.

While there will be regional, state-level and local issues that are important, these are elections for a government at the Centre, one that will govern all of India in its many diversities and fulfill its multitude of hopes and aspirations.

It is only the Indian National Congress that is anchored in the larger vision of India as a nation, while at the same time being sensitive to regional and local sentiments.

It is only the Indian National Congress that has demonstrated its commitment to a strong Centre, to strong States, and to strong panchayats and nagarpalikas. India’s political system must have space for institutions at each of these three levels. Each has a vital and specific role to play.

The Indian National Congress is fighting these elections in alliance with like-minded parties in some States. These parties share the progressive vision and values of the Congress. Over the past five years, the Indian National Congress has managed a coalition government at the Centre, accommodating the views of its partners but without compromising on any of the essential principles of nation-building.

Even so, what India needs most today -- what every Indian needs most today – at the national level is a party with an All-India perspective and with an All-India presence. The Indian National Congress is the only such party.

The Indian National Congress is the party that, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, led our people into freedom from colonial rule. It is the party whose leadership, by the admission of Dr. Ambedkar himself, made our Constitution possible.

The Indian National Congress is the party that, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, established the foundations of the modern Indian nation-state with its abiding commitment to parliamentary democracy, secularism, economic development, and science and technology.

Learning from experience at every step, the Indian National Congress is the party that has responded creatively to the challenges of the times through the establishment of a vast public sector manufacturing base in the fifties; through bank nationalization and the Green and White Revolutions spearheaded by Indira Gandhi in the late-sixties and seventies; through prudent liberalization and the IT Revolution created by Rajiv Gandhi in the eighties; bolder economic reforms in the nineties; and unprecedented economic growth over the past five years. It is the only party that is forward-looking, the only party that believes a better future is the right of every Indian.

The achievements of India since 1947 are the achievements of its people – of its farmers and farm labour, its organized sector and unorganized sector workers, its managers, its scientists and engineers, its teachers, doctors and other professionals, its entrepreneurs and businesspersons. It has been the privilege of the Indian National Congress to have provided the political leadership that heralded these accomplishments under the Prime Ministerships of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Dr. Manmohan Singh.

Congress vs BJP: Secular, Liberal Nationalism vs Narrow Communalism

The Indian National Congress has always been in the forefront of the battle against those forces that seek to divide and fragment our society.

The Indian National Congress has always been the bulwark against the four “isms” that threaten to tear our country apart -- communalism of all kinds, linguistic chauvinism, regional parochialism and casteism.

At the national level, the BJP has sought to position itself as the main political rival of the Indian National Congress.

The Indian National Congress rejects this presumptuous posturing since the BJP is simply not present in large parts of our country.

Even so, the contest between the Indian National Congress and the BJP is not just a fight between two political parties.

It is, in essence, a clash between two competing visions of Indian nationalism, between two competing visions of what India should be.

The Indian National Congress’s secular and liberal nationalism has an equal place for each and every Indian. It is an inclusive vision. The BJP’s narrow and communal nationalism denies equality and equal rights to large sections of our people. It is an exclusionary doctrine.

The Indian National Congress’s secular and liberal nationalism is founded on a celebration of India’s many diversities. The BJP’s narrow and communal nationalism rejects many of these diversities and seeks to impose an artificial uniformity on our people.

The Indian National Congress practices the politics of consensus and cooperation. The BJP practices the politics of divisiveness and discord. Instinctively, the Indian National Congress unites, while the BJP divides.

Third Front – a recipe for chaos

There is also the so-called Third Front, a grouping of opportunistic parties. These parties have neither consistency nor clarity. They have neither competence nor commitment. This Front, grounded in the politics of convenience, is nothing but a platform for personal ambitions. It speaks of “alternative polices” without spelling out what these alternatives are. Parties of the Third Front do one thing when they are in power and quite another when they are rejected by the people.

The Left Parties, who are prime movers behind the so-called Third Front, supported the Congress-led UPA government for over four years. They attempted to exercise authority without taking on any responsibility. At every step, they violated the discipline, restraint and sobriety so very essential for running a coalition smoothly. At every step, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, briefed them on all important issues. The Left Parties withdrew their support on the issue of the civilian nuclear agreement even though it had been negotiated and concluded on our own terms. They adamantly refused to listen to reasoned arguments that convincingly demonstrated that the agreement was in India’s supreme national interest.

The Left Parties and their present partners pride themselves on being secular. On the contrary, it may be recalled that they had actively aligned with the BJP in the past. They are, in fact, responsible for the electoral growth of the BJP.

Only a united India can fight terrorism

The integrity and security of India are paramount. Terrorism threatens many countries, including India.

Terrorism knows no religion and it respects no political boundary. It is, as has become painfully evident, not confined to any community or any political persuasion. Its method is the mindless use of violence directed at the innocent in the most cowardly manner.

Let it be very clear — terrorism must be fought relentlessly, intelligently and wisely, and without fear or favour.

Terrorism can be fought only by a united people, not by a people divided by religion. Religious polarization that is intrinsic to the BJP severely erodes our capacity to combat terrorism.

It is only the Indian National Congress that can deal with the scourge of terrorism squarely and decisively but without weakening the delicate strands that have, together, bound our society for centuries.

Dealing with terrorism aided and abetted from across our borders does not require a “muscular” foreign policy as advocated by the BJP. The country knows the heavy price that was paid for such a “muscular” foreign policy—stupor in Kargil, surrender in Kandahar and stalemate in Operation Parakram.

What India needs is an intelligent and wise foreign policy, a foreign policy that is rooted in our traditions, gives us strength through our unity and common purpose, and radiates confidence.

After the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, the Congress-led UPA government mounted a forceful diplomatic campaign. It was this campaign that led to Pakistan admitting, for the first time, that Pakistani citizens were responsible for the attacks. That admission was a notable victory for our well thought out foreign policy.

The Middle Path – the Congress’s way