Firing all cylinders, a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday set out to oust the 'failed and worthless' United Progressive Alliance government, riding on the National Democratic Alliance's 'unity and collectivity' in projecting L K Advani as the Prime Ministerial candidate.

At the same time, the saffron party suggested that its feet were on the ground with its chief Rajnath Singh talking about the agni-pariksha (trial by fire) to retain BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

"By approving our decision of declaring Advani as future Prime Minister, all our friends in NDA have given a message of unity and collectivity. I believe that this collectivity will lead us to success," Singh told the party's National Executive meeting in New Delhi.

The meeting, the first after Advani's anointment and NDA's endorsement of it, virtually saw curtains down on the era of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with Singh stating that the senior leader has blessed Advani by handing over responsibilities to him.

"The responsibility of realising the unfulfilled dreams of Atalji has been given to Advani. We have to convert this golden opportunity into victory," Singh said. He added, "The NDA is the need of the hour and the demand of the nation".

Hailing Advani, the BJP chief said his name is well-known in Indian politics, has a special place among all the political parties and has contributed significantly to the political rise of the party.

Meeting for the first time after the spectacular win in Narendra Modi-led Gujarat and after wresting Himachal Pradesh away from the Congress, Singh praised the success of the party's ideological commitment and its ability in the field of development.

"I fully believe the string of successes would further lead us to victory in the Lok Sabha elections," he said.

Briefing reporters, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said Singh also spoke of expanding the NDA alliance but did not spell out the possible allies, saying it was a matter of strategy.

Singh's speech at the Executive was the start of an intense exercise in the party on the poll preparations, which will be fine-tuned and given a final shape at the two-day National Council, beginning on Monday.

In his hour-long address, the BJP chief spoke on several issues including the expansion of the BJP, growth of terror, plight of farmers and landless labourers and the need to avoid frequent elections.

He attacked the UPA, dubbing it as unnatural alliance, as also the Left parties, saying the Congress and the Marxists are engaged in be-fooling people through shadow boxing.

"The more bitterly the Leftists criticise the central government in media, the more warmly they are hand in hand insidiously," he charged.

He said in the United Progressive Alliance, there is nothing that either appears united or progressive, and claimed that the recent elections and political developments show that the UPA has also lost the confidence of the people.

Singh said the BJP's acceptability was continuously increasing. "We will have to work day in day out so that our acceptability increases more and more and we are accepted by everyone," he said.

With the party identifying winning Karnataka as its foremost priority, he expressed confidence that the BJP will win the coming elections.

He also utilised the opportunity to make a veiled attack at the Janata Dal � Secular, headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, saying its conduct has raised a big question mark on the credibility of the politics of alliance.

Singh spoke at length about the need to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, which are scheduled to go to polls later this year. He noted that though polls will be held in other states, all eyes are fixed in BJP-ruled ones.

"I urge the state leadership of these states to completely engage themselves with the preparations for the electoral battle from now itself. We have many more tasks ahead and time is limited," he said.

The BJP, he said, has shattered the myth in Gujarat that the party cannot return to power twice or thrice in a row and observed that Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan should also try to repeat this kind of success. "The activists and leadership have an agni-pariksha before them," he said.

Singh devoted a major portion of his address to attacking UPA government on issues ranging from minority appeasement, internal security, price rise and the agrarian crisis.

Referring to the Ram Sethu affidavit controversy, Singh said, "The government has no faith in Lord Ram, there is no way that the people will have faith in such a government".

He accused the UPA government of following a divide and rule policy like the British regime by giving prominence to Muslims and even talking about them having the first claim on the country's resources.

"In the fight against poverty and for development, communal views should be entirely abandoned, but we have information that UPA government has selected the districts where minority population is more," he said.

Harping on the internal security issue, he said Uttar Pradesh is becoming a new target of terrorists and regretted that there was no central policy for India, which is "infested with Naxal-secessionist forces".

He came down heavily on Left parties, saying, "They have no qualms in killing the farmers and workers of the same suppressed class of whose welfare they talk to capture power".

"The real face, character and functioning of the Leftists was exposed in Nandigram and Singur," he said.

Talking about the plight of farmers and landless labourers, he also demanded convening of a special session of Parliament to discuss the issue.

Singh appealed to the Election Commission and all political parties to start thinking on the issue of frequent polls which leave no time for parties to engage in constructive work.