Panipat: Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani today (March 24, 2004) claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has gained strength in the four Southern States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh during the six-year rule of the Atal Behari Vajpayee Government at the Centre.

"Even during the Janata Party wave in 1977, the party (with which BJP had merged) had got only six seats in these States. But now, the BJP is feeling strong in these States," he claimed addressing a gathering of party workers.

Alleging that the Congress has lost its credibility among the people across the country, Advani said Sonia Gandhi's party would hardly cross the three-figure mark in the Lok Sabha polls.