article: Nick Clegg today pleaded with Labour and Tory supporters to vote tactically to stop Alex Salmond in his tracks. In a highly-unusual move, the Lib Dem leader urged his rivals to help stop Mr Salmond from 'strutting his stuff' in Westminster. The former Scottish First Minister hopes to make a return to the Commons as MP for Gordon by ousting the Lib Dems who have held the seat for more than 30 years. Nick Clegg, who today visited diving equipment manufacturer Divex Global in Aberdeen, urged supporters of rival parties to help stop Alex Salmond returning to Parliament . Polls suggest the Lib Dems face near-wipeout in Scotland, with senior figures including Treasury minister Danny Alexander under threat from a surge in support for the SNP. Mr Salmond has chosen to stand in the Gordon constituency, where veteran Lib Dem Sir Malcolm Bruce is standing down. Today Mr Clegg was campaigning in Scotland, including a visit to a diving equipment manufacturer in Aberdeen. Alex Salmond has chosen to stand in the Gordon constituency, where veteran Lib Dem Sir Malcolm Bruce is standing down . He spoke out in support of new Lib Dem candidate in Gordon, Christine Jardine. He appealed 'to all those voters, they may be Labour voters, they may be Conservative voters, but voters who simply don't want to have their vote taken for granted by Alex Salmond'. He added: 'If you want to stop Alex Salmond pocketing your vote and dancing off to strut his stuff on the Westminster stage, the only way to stop him is to vote for Christine Jardine as the next MP for Gordon.' Sir Malcolm had held Gordon for the Lib Dems since 1983, but the scale of the challenge facing Mr Clegg's party was illustrated by a Lord Ashcroft poll in January which put the SNP on 43 per cent with the Lib Dems on 26 per cent. Mr Clegg warned that the SNP wanted to reopen 'old wounds' from the divisive independence referendum campaign that had strained families, friendships and communities. The Lib Dem leader said: 'That referendum was fought over months and years, it was fought with passion and vigour on all sides. 'But, let's be honest, it placed some strain on communities. Friendships were placed under strain as people differed on that fundamental thing. Even relationships within families were put under strain. 'The people of Scotland don't want to turn the clock back and reopen those wounds about that debate, they want to move forward.' Mr Clegg told reporters that the SNP offered the 'politics of division'. He said: 'When I speak to people in Gordon and elsewhere, they say 'Let's move on' - they don't want the politics of division from the nationalists, they want the politics of hope, of unity, of continuity.' Mr Clegg warned that the SNP wanted to reopen 'old wounds' from the divisive independence referendum campaign that had strained families, friendships and communities . Mr Clegg said it was 'possible' that the Lib Dems could come out of the election with more seats than Labour in Scotland . Mr Clegg dismissed as 'ludicrous' suggestions that it was hypocritical to urge supporters of other parties to back the Lib Dems to stop the SNP if he was not prepared to tell his voters to put their cross in Labour's box in seats where Ed Miliband's party is battling the nationalists. Speaking to reporters on his campaign bus, he said: 'It's not up to me to appeal to Lib Dem voters to vote for other parties, it's for other parties to make their case.' He added: 'Of course I am not going to start telling Lib Dem voters to vote for other parties. If other parties want to make a pitch to them in other parts of the country, it's a free country, they can do it. 'It's called a campaign. It's what happens in every single campaign. No party can win seats without reaching beyond their core vote.' Mr Clegg said he would 'let the SNP and Labour fight it out and talk to those voters'. 'It's not for me to start telling Lib Dem voters to do anything other than vote Lib Dem. What a ludicrous idea.' Mr Clegg dismissed as 'ludicrous' suggestions that it was hypocritical to urge supporters of other parties to back the Lib Dems to stop the SNP if he was not prepared to tell his voters to put their cross in Labour's box in seats where Ed Miliband's party is battling the nationalists . Mr Clegg said it was 'possible' that the Lib Dems could come out of the election with more seats than Labour in Scotland because of the damage the SNP surge could inflict on Mr Miliband's party. He said: 'I suppose that's theoretically possible. I try to avoid making predictions, but I'm quite seduced by that prospect.' Mr Clegg blamed Labour's failings for the current political landscape in Scotland. 'I've never in my adult political life seen a party so complacent about taking thousands of voters for granted, to the extent that when the SNP challenged them, they had no organisation,' he said. 'Particularly at campaign times, politics is the marriage of lofty ideals with gritty organisation, and you can't deliver your messages and ideas and you certainly defend them when they are being challenged, unless you have an organisation. 'And the Labour party, astonishingly, just basically let that organisation disappear, just wither on the vine...we'll see where it ends up but I suspect we'll weather the challenge from the SNP a lot better than Labour does.' Mr Clegg also took his campaign against the SNP to West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, where Sir Robert Smith is hoping to hold on to his seat.
highlights: Lib Dem leader makes highly unusual plea for help from party rivals .
  Alex Salmond bidding to be an MP after quitting as First Minister last year .
  Clegg boasts Lib Dems could be left with more Scottish MPs than Labour .
prediction: Nick Clegg 
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   Alex 
  , the Lib Dem leader urged his rivals to help stop Mr Salmond from' strutting his stuff' in Westminster 
   First Minister hopes to make a return to 
   as MP for Gordon by 
   held 
   diving 
   Aberdeen 
   supporters of rival parties 
   . Polls 
   the Lib Dems face near - wipeout in Scotland 
   support for 
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   has chosen 
   stand 
   constituency 
   Sir Malcolm Bruce is standing down . 
   Jardine 
   reopen 
   old wounds 
  