Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Information and Broadcasting Minister Smrithi Irani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, actor-turned-MP Hema Malini and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are expected to be among the ‘star campaigners’ of BJP besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah who are likely to hit the campaign trail soon.
With the State under the grip of election fever, the party is said to have finalised the list of star campaigners for obtaining clearance from the Election Commission since each of them were entitled to certain privileges in their campaign itinerary in the wake of strict enforcement of model code of conduct ahead of the May 12 elections.
Mysuru will be among the key campaign zones of these leaders with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the fray from the high-profile Chamundeshwari constituency and his son Yatheendra from Varuna which the CM had held for two terms.
BJP leader M.A. Mohan said the top BJP leaders are expected to campaign in Mysuru in addition to other constituencies in the third week of April. Leaders from the State, including State BJP president and Chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa, Union Ministers Ananth Kumar, Ananth Kumar Hegde; and Shobha Karandlaje, MP, and others will also be campaigning for the candidates as star campaigners. “The expenses of the leaders listed as star campaigners will be borne by the party. These leaders get a vehicle and also centralised permission for travel to places where they will be campaigning. They need not have to take permission from the respective district election authorities,” he told The Hindu.
Details of the road shows and other campaign highlights in the district will be known once the list was approved by the commission which is expected at the earliest. The “star campaigners” are likely to descend in the constituencies that had generated a lot of curiosity among the electorate with the Congress and the JD-S leaving no stone unturned to reach out to the voters.
Three vehicles
Three vehicles equipped with LED screens – one bigger vehicle for the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency and four smaller vehicles for the Assembly constituencies in Mysuru city – Chamaraja, Narasimharaja, Krishnaraja and Chamundeshwari (the booths located in Mysuru city limits) – will move around the constituencies highlighting the then Yeddyurappa government’s and the NDA government’s contribution, he said. Mr. Mohan said the bigger vehicle will travel across Mysuru and Kodagu districts, which is part of Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency, and the smaller vehicles will travel across city-based constituencies from Saturday.
An in-charge had been appointed for each vehicle who will chalk out the campaign route of these vehicles. As many as 109 such campaign vehicles had been flagged off for the party’s campaign in the State, he added.
