The final list of star campaigners is likely to be released next week.
New Delhi: Top Bhojpuri stars and Union ministers and MPs from Poorvanchal are set to figure as chief campaigners for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 8 February Assembly polls in Delhi. Led by its state unit president and Bhojpuri icon Manoj Tiwari, the party will rope in stars like Pawan Singh, Khesari Lal Yadav and Dinesh Lal Yadav “Nirahua” for campaigning in Poorvanchali dominated seats in the national capital. BJP MP and another Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan and popular singer from Haryana, Sapna Chaudhary, too, figure in the tentative list of star campaigners. The final list of star campaigners is likely to be released next week.
With Poorvanchalis—migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh—comprising nearly 40% of votes in Delhi, the BJP has set its eyes firm on this community. The Poorvanchalis voting en masse for the BJP could change the fortunes of the party which is fighting to return to power after 21 years. Poorvanchalis had voted for the BJP in 2017 Municipal elections and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union ministers like Giriraj Singh, Nityanand Rai, Ashwini Chaubey and BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain from the Poorvanchal region will be campaigning in Delhi.
According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be holding big rallies in the capital, while other minister and campaigners will be holding small public meetings. As per the BJP’s strategy, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP working president J.P. Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior leaders will hold 15 to 20 public meetings each in different Assembly segments. The idea is to save on manpower and resources while ensuring effective communication with the
voters.
Chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam and Tripura will also be campaigning in the city. The BJP has also roped in former Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for electioneering.
A senior BJP leader said that small public meetings, instead of big rallies, have been planned to woo small groups of people, particularly migrants coming different states. This is where Bhojpuri stars and BJP leaders from other states will prove effective in wooing the voters.
According to estimates, Poorvanchalis constitute over 40% of the vote share in the city. In Delhi, there are at least 20 Assembly constituencies where Poorvanchalis constitute 20-47% of the vote share. In the 2013 Assembly polls, Tiwari’s impact in these seats had been influential. Manoj Tiwari had campaigned on 19 of these seats of which 14 came to BJP’s kitty. However, the BJP lost all these seats in the 2015 Assembly polls.
A party leader said the Bhojpuri stars are quite popular among the Poorvanchali voters. These stars will mainly campaign in constituencies like Burari, Seemapuri, Gokalpuri, Karawal Nagar, Kirari, Badli, Nangloi, Rithala, Matiala, Vikaspuri, Dwarka, Uttam Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Deoli, Badarpur, Tughlakabad, Patparganj, Laxmi Nagar, Wazirpur and Rajinder Nagar.