NEW DELHI, March 20 � Upset with the manner in which the nomination of candidates was handled, BJP�s star campaigner, Varun Gandhi my not hit the campaign trail in Assembly polls in Assam, party sources said.
BJP�s election woes are far from over, as after the sulking Lok Sabha MPs, it is now the turn of its campaign in-charge to skip the show in Assam.
Sources in the party confided that the young MP is very upset about the distribution of party �tickets� to undeserving candidates. The party Lok Sabha MPs had also protested over the same issues. Though, subsequently, national president Nitin Gadkari managed to placate Rajen Gohain and Bijoya Chakravarty by dolling out tickets to their nominees, Ramen Deka and Kabindra Purkayastha continue to sulk.
As reported, Gandhi had a heated exchange with party colleagues ahead of the first Central Election Committee meeting of the party, at the BJP headquarters, when he protested against nomination of few candidates. The meeting was attended by State BJP president, Ranjit Dutta, in-charge Vijay Goel and Chandrashekhar among others.
Varun Gandhi after being given charge of campaign in Assam election had toured the State on several occasions and had even given �vital inputs� to the central leadership. He was scheduled to hit the trail on March 17, but no one in the BJP now seems to be aware of his campaign tour.
When asked about Varun�s campaign programme, Vijay Goel told newsmen that they are uncertain whether he is going to join it at all. �We are hoping that he campaigns, but since the issue is personal, we can�t even insist,� he added.
Goel was referring to Gandhi�s wedding and a possible extended honeymoon. In any case, campaign is in early stage and not many senior leaders have reached the State, he pointed out.
The party in-charge, however, insisted that all was well in the party and though the MPs were initially upset, things are back to normal.
Meanwhile, Goel revealed that Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, top BJP leaders L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj among others are going to campaign extensively in Assam. The BJP has aligned with Nitish Kumar�s Janata Dal (United) giving him four seats.
Taking a leaf out of Congress�s book, the BJP too is planning to harp on the economic development agenda in its manifesto, which is being released next week by Rajnath Singh. The BJP would promise to develop Assam in the same manner, in which it has been taken up in other states like Gujarat and Bihar, Goel added.
The BJP�s four poll plank will include inflation, economic development, corruption of Congress Government and illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, Goel revealed.
The former Lok Sabha MP in fact claimed that theirs was the most organised campaign. �We were first to announce our candidates and release the election manifesto,� he boasted.
