Simply saffron in Gujarat

In south India, where the lotus is not a favourite, Advani was flanked by BJP’s own Muslim leaders, two Christian community leaders from Kerala — Rev Thomas David and Thomas Abraham — and Zain-ul-Abedin, Diwan of Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer. But not in riot-shadowed Gujarat. Convener of Bharat Uday Yatra Jayanti Barot said, ‘‘Minority leaders have not been invited because there is no place on the rath. CM Modi and Rajendrasinh Rana will be present at the beginning of the second phase.’’

As national-level minority community leaders have not been invited, it’s a matter of little surprise that local leaders have also been given a miss. Ilyas Khan Pathan confirmed, ‘‘We have not been given a formal invitation.’’ He added that when Advani kick starts his yatra, he would be busy with minority conventions in areas of Jamnagar.

Barot said it will cover eight constituencies including Porbandar, Junagadh, Rajkot and Surendranagar. Barot said, ‘‘Obviously, focus will be to strengthen BJP’s base in constituencies, where it lost in the last elections. That’s why Porbandar, where it lost last time, and Surendranagar will be more important compared to Rajkot and Junagadh, where the BJP has a stronghold.’’