NEW DELHI, Feb 2 � As the going is getting tough for the two national parties, the Congress Party and BJP have fallen back on their regional leaders to woo voters from the north eastern region.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and his party colleagues, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh and Union Ministers of State Sarbananda Sonowal and Kiren Rijiju have all hit the campaign trail for their respective parties, making the Delhi Assembly election a keenly contested affair.
The two national parties have rushed in their regional leaders mainly to campaign among their own communities. There are an estimated 1.5 lakh voters from the region spread over 19 of the 70 Legislative Assembly Constituencies. The highest number of voters are in Timarpur LAC.
Tarun Gogoi, who arrived in the national capital on Sunday, immediately hit the campaign trail in Chandni Chowk area, holding street-corner meetings.
Attacking both the BJP and Aam Admi Party (AAP), Gogoi dismissed the saffron party�s election campaign as a well-packaged affair which fell far short of expectations. He claimed that the BJP only represented the rich and affluent section of society.
As for the AAP, Gogoi described it as a dharna party claiming that it was in fact a VIP party and not Aam Admi Party.
Hailing the Congress Party, Chief Minister Gogoi said the party understood the woes of the common people and it was the only national party that believed in development of all sections of people.
On Tuesday Gogoi will campaign in Jungpura area, which has a sizeable Muslim population.
While the Congress has roped in its regional heavyweights, the BJP�s strategy is somewhat different. The saffron party has identified the voters of the North-east in each of the 19 Assembly segments and has been organising meetings between the voters and the local Assembly candidates, giving it a special touch, said North East convenor of Delhi BJP, Manab Deka.
Deka said several meetings have been organised between the local BJP candidates and the people from the North-east, while its two Ministers of State Sonowal and Rijiju have also been campaigning in identified Assembly constituencies.
Campaigning in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls has reached a feverish pitch with just five days left for the campaigning. The three major parties � BJP, AAP and Congress � have pulled out all stops in order to better their opponents. Be it Kiran Bedi of BJP, Arvind Kejriwal of AAP or Congress� Ajay Maken, all have stepped up their attacks on each other.
Kejriwal has been busy mudslinging on Kiran Bedi, while the BJP is piling up a heap of questions on Kejriwal every day.
The BJP has scheduled four public rallies for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress star campaigner and vice president Rahul Gandhi is also holding as many rallies as possible in and around Delhi.
