In slog overs, BJP turns to all-rounders

Rather than scattering its resources in states with limited BJP influence in the final phase of polling, the party — in a strategy meet...

Rather than scattering its resources in states with limited BJP influence in the final phase of polling, the party — in a strategy meeting at party chief Venkaiah Naidu’s residence — has decided to channelise its energy on the remaining 18 seats in western Uttar Pradesh and 17 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Aiming for a decisive mandate, the BJP top brass, after reviewing the third phase of polling, asked Rajnath Singh to stay put in Uttar Pradesh and cancel his rallies elsewhere.

Western UP will also be a test for Kalyan Singh, who heads the party’s election campaign committee in UP, as the Lodh community — to which he belongs — has significant number of votes in the Parliamentary constituencies of Bulandshahr, Khurja, Aonla, Hapur, Baduan and Moradabad.

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While Deputy PM L.K. Advani and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha will campaign in the South from Friday, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh has been entrusted with West Bengal, Assam and Rajput dominated areas of UP.

BJP focus on UP is understandable as Naidu admitted that the Muslim vote in the state had been split between the Samajwadi Party, Congress and BJP. He claimed that the NDA would get a majority on its own but was not averse to smaller parties joining the coalition.

Upbeat about its performance in the third phase, the party leadership cited the rise in the stock market as a reflection of faith that only the NDA led by Vajpayee can provide stable and good governance.

The party has decided to depute Law Minister Arun Jaitely to Punjab, while Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has been asked to garner votes in UP as well as Punjab. General Secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been asked to camp in the Muslim-dominated areas of Rampur, Bijnore, Bareilly and Moradabad of UP.

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The focus of BJP’s campaign will be the disunity in the Congress and its secular alliance over their leader and the stability plank of the Vajpayee government. However, BJP’s moves to get star campaigners like Dharmendra and his wife Hema Malini for UP have run into trouble. Dharmendra, who was canvassing in Delhi today, is not keen to go to UP and neither is Hema Malini on account of exhaustion. This leaves BJP to get Dara Singh to woo Jat voters.

Meanwhile, apprehending problems during polling in the fourth phase in Congress-ruled Punjab and Left Front-run West Bengal, BJP today made a strong plea to the Election Commission to take ‘‘necessary precautions’’ in the two states.

Naidu said this was required as the Punjab Chief minister was ‘‘notoriously known for misusing’’ the administration while the authorities in West Bengal have got a ‘‘long record of scientific rigging’’.

Amid India’s push to extradite Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi, British officials visit Tihar jail to inspect conditions

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