The ministers, along with senior party members Om Mathur, Bhupendra Yadav, Sunil Bansal and national secretary Srikant Sharma are now planning the last leg of the state elections, with a special emphasis on Varanasi which goes to polls on March 8.
While union ministers have been flocking the temple city to be part of the last leg of UP poll campaigns, two are actively involved in the micro-managing and engineering the BJP’s election campaign here —Piyush Goyal and JP Nadda, with party president Amit Shah.
The ministers, along with senior party members Om Mathur, Bhupendra Yadav, Sunil Bansal and national secretary Srikant Sharma are now planning the last leg of the state elections, with a special emphasis on Varanasi which goes to polls on March 8.
BJP insiders say Goyal is mostly busy in planning the party’s campaign strategy that includes holding group-wise public meetings, preparing the ground for Modi’s public meetings, rallies and road shows on Saturday and Sunday in Varanasi. Whereas, Nadda is busy mobilising the party force and sorting out the internal differences and grumbling voices within the party.
The party is facing an internal rebellion in the Varanasi South and Varanasi Cantt seats, which have eight assembly seats. Except Rohaniya and Sevapuri, which are being contested by NDA partner Apna Dal, BJP is contesting in the other six seats.
It has not gone down well with the party cadre that the Varanasi Cantt seat has gone to Saurabh Srivastava, whose parents have earlier been legislators from the seat. There was a disillusionment among BJP workers who thought the party leadership was promoting one family on this seat, while ignoring others.
Similarly, there was angst within BJP in Varanasi south, where seven-time BJP legislator Shyamdeo Roy Chowdhury was denied a ticket and was replaced by Neelkanth Tiwari, a new face in the constituency.
“Naddaji has been sorting out these differences and right now there is no resentment within the party,” a senior party leader said. Hinting at Roy Chowdhury, he said, "The party believes in giving a chance to the younger leaders."
Party insiders revealed many union ministers are trying to visit Varanasi at least once, but more as a compulsory attendance. “They feel Modiji will take note of this,” a party leader said.
Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani also visited Varanasi for the poll campaigns. “She is holding special meetings with the women of UP. On Friday, she had met women from lower income groups,” a party leader said. Irani also addressed the press at the newly inaugurated BJP new media centre in Varanasi’s Ghosabad, where she hit out at UP CM Akhilesh Yadav’s administration over its handling of the Gayatri Prajapati rape case.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, and Water Minister Uma Bharti have also visited Varanasi recently
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