Modi, Varun demoted

Hardline Hindutva ebbs with Gujarat CM's name 17th on the star campaigners' list and firebrand Varun Gandhi finding no mention

Hardline Hindutva ebbs with Gujarat CM's name 17th on the star campaigners' list and firebrand Varun Gandhi finding no mention

Hindutva failed them the last time around. Internal strife is plaguing them. It's time to turn to the Gods.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has finally realised it's the persona of Atal Bihari Vajpayee that brought them to power at the Centre in 1998. Nothing else sells. Brand Advani flopped miserably in the last general elections.

So, the saffron outfit is mulling the relaunch of its lucky charm to corner power in the politically important state of Maharashtra. In the list of star campaigners sent to the Election Commission (EC) for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Vajpayee's name is at the top.

The BJP is not alone. Its ally in the state, the Shiv Sena, has listed Bal Thackeray as its number one campaigner. Interestingly, his name was also missing from the list the party sent to the EC for the last general elections.

Said a source in the Maharashtra BJP, "It was necessary and important to bring Bal Thackeray back, to counter the Raj threat. The Shiv Sena is expecting from Thackeray, what the BJP expects from Vajpayee. The BJP wanted to underplay the decision to use Vajpayee as a star campaigner this time around, though they ignored him the last time."

Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray had earlier told MiD DAY, in an exclusive interview, that the party was trying to rope in the patriarch for the campaign.u00a0

SOS: The services of Bal Thackeray and Atal Bihari Vajpayee are desperately required to rejuvenate their parties, say sources. file pic

Replacing Advani

For the BJP, from spending his days in political oblivion at his comatose 6A, Krishna Menon Marg residence, Vajpayee is back at the number one spot in the party replacing L K Advani.

The octogenarian leader was responsible for bringing together 20-odd parties in the NDA giving the BJP its only chance to rule the country. But due to multiple health problems and senility, Vajpayee had excused himself from active politics and did not attend any political or election rally to garner support for the party in the last general elections. His name also did not feature in the list of star campaigners submitted for the polls.

Though Advani was number one on the star campaigners' list submitted for the general elections, the order has now been revised.

Modi at #17

Interestingly, Narendra Modi is at number 17 and Hindutva's new poster boy Varun Gandhi is absent from the list. This goes on to explain how the 'chintan' has resulted in pushing hardline Hindutva to a corner.

A close aide to Vajpayee told MiD DAY that he is doing fine now and meeting people "regularly", but he did not confirm whether the veteran leader will return to active campaigning. "We have not received any detailed programme for Vajpayeeji from the party," he said.
u00a0
Emotional bond

Ever since the party was defeated in the last general elections and its reported failure to keep the NDA constituents together, there have been demands to bring back Vajpayee. Political analysts had blamed Advani for failing to attract allies as well as not being as acceptable as his celebrated predecessor.

"The BJP shares an emotional bond with Atalji. The party cannot keep him out of the list of star campaigners.

However, his physical constitution does not allow him to attend political meetings and campaign for the party," said Shyam Jaju, in-charge of the BJP headquarters. The list bears his signature.

When asked why Vajpayee's name was missing from the list in the last general elections, Jaju said his name was there though he did not come out to campaign due to health concerns. However, the list, a copy of which is with MiD DAY, submitted to the EC before the last Lok Sabha elections, did not have Vajpayee's name. The list started with Advani's name.

BJP vice president and spokesperson Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said the party may use Vajpayee's charm in the audio-visual format. "I don't think his health will allow him to remain physically present at the campaign meetings," he said.

Vajpayee has not attended a public meeting for more than a year.

Star Campaigner
Each recognised political party has to submit a list of 40 people to the Election Commission who will campaign for the party. The list is mandatory under the Explanation 1(a) read with Explanation 2 under sub-section (1) of Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The expenses incurred by these campaigners are not counted in individual candidate's account for the purpose of audit by the Commission.

BJP's Top 10
1. Atal Behari Vajpayee
2. LK Advani
3. Rajnath Singh
4. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi
5. M Venkaiah Naidu
6. Arun Jaitley
7. Sushma Swaraj
8. Ananth Kumar
9. Ram Lal
10. Balasaheb Apte
u00a0
Shiv Sena Top 10
1. Bal Thackeray
2. Uddhav Thackeray
3. Manohar Joshi
4. Liladhar Dake
5. Madhukar Sarpotdar
6. Subhash Desai
7. Dattaji Nalawade
8. Diwakar Rawate
9. Ramdas Kadam
10. Sanjay Raut