BJP says Modi to join campaign. But when?

Narendra Modi may have refused to campaign in Uttar Pradesh due to the inclusion of Sanjay Joshi at a senior position in the BJP, but party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi asserted on Friday that the Gujarat chief minister would campaign in UP.

“Yes, he will participate in election campaign of BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The dates are being finalised,” Naqvi told reporters on Friday in reply to a question.

Modi stayed away from the party’s poll campaign in Punjab and Uttarakhand and so far remained silent on campaigning in Uttar Pradesh.

Sources in the BJP said the main problem Modi had was Joshi deciding his campaigning route and schedule. “The rumours are that Joshi had allotted those seats to him where the party was not likely to perform well. Modi rejected that schedule and asserted that he would campaign where the BJP is likely to perform better so that the burden of loss does not bear down on him. The national leadership considered this yet another act of defiance, but Modi is unyielding,” the sources said.

When asked whether the party has taken Modi’s consent on his campaign in UP, Naqvi said, “We have talked to him.