NEWSLINKS US EDITION SOUTH ASIA COLUMNISTS DIARY SPECIALS INTERVIEWS CAPITAL BUZZ REDIFF POLL THE STATES ELECTIONS ARCHIVES US ARCHIVES SEARCH REDIFF
In a bid to retain hold over the Hindi heartland and take political adversaries head on, the Bharatiya Janata Party is planning an extensive campaign by senior party leaders, including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and several ministers.
The thrust of electioneering this time would be on mass contact programmes, instead of whirlwind tours by the leaders, a party functionary said.
The state party unit, not satisfied with six days allotted by the prime minister and nine days by Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, has requested the Central leadership for more time.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Rajnath Singh would kick off the campaign on January 24 from Saharanpur, party sources said, adding he is likely to cover some 150-200 km by road daily.
The chief minister would cover about 34 constituencies in the first leg of his four-day long electioneering in the western Uttar Pradesh, he added.
Kalraj Misra would start his election tour from January 27.
Union Ministers Murli Manohar Joshi, Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitely, Uma Bharti, Shahnawaz Khan, besides the leaders of friendly parties Ajit Singh, George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and Maneka Gandhi, are also likely to tour the state.
Back to top
Tell us what you think of this report
Call India
