Polls in five states a semifinal: Gadkari

Panaji: The ongoing assembly elections in five states across India are a 'semifinal', ahead of the general elections scheduled in 2014, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday.

Gadkari, who was in Goa to announce a pre-poll alliance with a regional party, also said that the BJP was confident of installing non-Congress governments in all five states - Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur.

"The elections in these five states are a semifinal. I am sure that the BJP will have its government in Punjab and Uttarakhand," Gadkari said, adding that the politically sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh could throw up a verdict in favour of his party.

"In Goa, the people are tired of corruption, which has reached never before levels. I was in Manipur for two days and I can confidently say that there will be a non-Congress government there," Gadkari said.