Ahmedabad: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani on expressed confidence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) getting a "comfortable mandate" in Assembly polls in Gujarat on December 12, "despite a poll campaign which saw unprecedented viciousness".

"I have never witnessed such a campaign during the last 20-22 years since BJP was formed or in 50 years of 'Jan Sangh'...despite this if the people give another mandate to BJP, it will be comparable to the one in 1977 when Jai Prakash Narayan and Opposition parties were under attack," he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister stated this after casting his vote at Bhardiavas Municipal School in Shahpur constituency in Ahmedabad.

He said, "Another mandate for BJP would mean that people in a Democracy understand what was wrong and what was right."

BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said the election would witness unprecedented polling as people have come out in large numbers to exercise their franchise in initial hours.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was among the early voters in Sarkhej constituency of the city, described the poll as "loktantra ka mahaparv" (big festival of Democracy)".

He said the people of the state would give a befitting reply in the polls to those who had launched a malicious campaign to defame Gujarat.

PTI