Hyderabad: A day after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee spoke of his intention to retire if latest peace initiative with Pakistan fails, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it would fight the next Lok Sabha elections under his leadership and on the performance plank.

"The collective will of the party is that Vajpayee should lead us in the next elections also," party general secretary Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters on May 29 in the midst of BJP's crucial brainstorming session in Hyderabad.

Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani inaugurated the two-day meeting of the party's state unit presidents and secretaries to chalk out a strategy for the coming round of Assembly polls and also an action plan for the next Lok Sabha elections.

"The meeting is focussing on three issues – organisational polls, reviewing electoral preparedness in four states going to polls and formulating action plan to realise the goal of capturing 300 seats in the next Lok Sabha polls," Chouhan said.

Setting the tone for the two-day exercise, Advani said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was poised to get public mandate on the basis of good governance and exhorted the party leaders to take a pledge to strive for the success of 'Mission 2004'.

Stating that there was no alternative to NDA (National Democratic Alliance), the Deputy Prime Minister also spoke of 'anti-Congress' sentiments working to the advantage of BJP and its allies across the country.

PTI