The Hindu : National : BJP plans carpet-bombing poll campaign

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Sunday, Nov 25, 2007
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BJP plans carpet-bombing poll campaign

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party has planned a sort of carpet-bombing election campaign for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh with about 80 party leaders scheduled to simultaneously address rallies and public meetings on the inaugural day of the campaign.

However, the party’s star-campaigner, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will be missing from action as doctors have advised him against travelling, party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, in-charge of campaign administration said.

Mr. Naqvi indicated here on Saturday that the first such carpet-bombing event would take place in Gujarat on November 27 to mark the start of the party’s intensive campaign to cover the first phase of elections in the State. “Eighty-seven national and state level BJP leaders will address over 180 rallies in Gujarat on November 27 to mark the `jeetega Gujarat’ (Gujarat will win) campaign,” he said.

A similar show has been planned in Gujarat on December 2 to mark the start of the second phase election campaign. Video-presentations and other propaganda materials are being readied to be distributed on a large-scale and the “hero” of the entire campaign is Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Damage control

In Gujarat the party’s main task would be to keep the damage inflicted by dissidence to the minimum. While some BJP dissident leaders have already been “accommodated” by the Congress, others are hopeful of getting tickets from the Bahujan Samaj Party, which has declared its intention to contest all seats. Still some others are hoping to get on to the party band wagon of the expelled BJP leader Uma Bharati.

In Himachal, the party slogan is: ‘Bhrashtachar Mukt, Vikas Yukt’ (Freedom from corruption, full of development). Other slogans pick up the same theme: ‘Bhrasht Raja, Chaupat Raj’ (corrupt ruler, inept rule). While the party is not officially projecting any person as the chief ministerial candidate, senior leaders here have confirmed that if the BJP were to emerge victorious, it would give the top job to the former Chief Minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal, once again.

In this hilly State, the “carpet-bombing” technique would be applied on December 5 when almost the entire national leadership of the party and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States will descend here to try and oust the ruling Congress party from power.

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