BJP’s star power to scorch Maharashtra polls
The BJP is lining up party heavyweights, including over a dozen Union ministers, to the campaign in the poll-bound state.
By Kumar Vikram in New Delhi | Mail Today  
The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to emerge as the single largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly polls after its split with the Shiv Sena. Party president Amit Shah is personally monitoring every aspect of the poll campaign while several Union ministers have been told to campaign for the electoral battle.
About a dozen Union ministers, according to party sources, have been told to take time off from their affairs in Delhi and devote themselves to the campaign in the poll-bound state.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar is already in Maharashtra to oversee the party’s poll preparedness, while Union ministers Ananth Kumar, Radha Mohan Singh, Smriti Irani, Manoj Sinha, Santosh Gangwar and Uma Bharti will join him soon.
Moreover, Union minister Nitin Gadkari— a key member of the Cabinet — has also been taking keen interest in the day-to-day political developments in Maharashtra.
Vijendra Gupta, a BJP leader from Delhi, has also been given responsibility for preparations for the polls.
Cricketer-turned-BJP politician Navjot Singh Sidhu will also campaign in the state.
A party leader said the BJP plans to hold 300 rallies across Maharashtra in two days. Its campaign will cover all 288 Assembly constituencies and nearly all key leaders will address rallies on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A senior BJP leader said the party’s strategy was to take on the “misrule” of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance and it would not target the Shiv Sena during the campaign. He said good governance at the Centre would be highlighted and Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be requested to address as many rallies as possible once he returns from his US trip.
According to an initial estimate, Modi is expected to address more than 20 rallies in Maharashtra and he will begin in Mumbai on October 4.
The BJP has decided not to project anybody as the prospective chief minister and the campaign will be “Modi-centric”, the leader said.
While Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will address rallies in southern Maharashtra, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani will cover Pune. Sidhu will address rallies in Mumbai and Javadekar will focus on Nashik.
The BJP faces a major challenge as the party is fighting polls without the Shiv Sena as its ally for the first time in 25 years, and the party is banking on the ‘Modi wave’ for victory.Maharashtra will see a five cornered contest in these polls between the Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena, BJP and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
Reproduced From Mail Today. Copyright 2014. MTNPL. All rights reserved.