With elections just one month away, the BJP seems to have upset its two major star campaigners, Shatrughan Sinha and Varun Gandhi.
According to sources, both the star campaigners are upset with the party leadership — particularly over the manner they have been sidelined in party affairs — and have decided not to make themselves “freely available” for campaign in UP.
Shatrughan Sinha and Varun Gandhi, incidentally, are the two star campaigners who have immense appeal in the Hindi heartland and are much sought after in UP.
BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha has already left for his annual family holiday to the United States. Before leaving, he told this correspondent, “I have not been informed about the campaign and therefore, I have made my own personal commitments. Probably, the party does not star campaigners because it is strong enough on its own in UP.”
Sources close to the star MP said that the BJP leadership had been persistently ignoring the star since the past few months. “For years he has been campaigning for the party and is now one of the veteran leaders with an all-India appeal. Yet in recent months, the party has been ignoring seniors like him and Yashwant Sinha and this has naturally upset him,” said a close aide of the star.
Unlike other star campaigners of the BJP, Mr Sinha has a grip over ground realities and is aware of political equations. His speeches, therefore, are more credible than others because he talks of local as well as national issues and laces his speeches with sarcasm and humour — in short, he plays to the gallery but appeals to the intelligent.
On the other hand, BJP MP Varun Gandhi is also said to be upset with the party leadership and may restrict his campaigning to a few, select constituencies.
Mr Varun Gandhi is a major crowd puller and an emerging youth icon in Uttar Pradesh. A large number of contestants are keen to have Varun in their constituencies because he has the ability to swing young voters.
Mr Gandhi, however, has stayed away from party functions since the past six months and did not participate in the Jan Swabhiman Yatras either and this has rankled his supporters.