Vajpayee, Sonia to launch high-voltage
campaign for the capital
Both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition Indian National Congress are set to have high-voltage launches for their electoral campaigns for the Delhi assembly with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi flagging off the respective drives.
The BJP's campaign is being launched tomorrow, a month ahead of the polls, with a rally to be addressed by Vajpayee, Delhi unit chief Mange Ram Garg told reporters yesterday.
The date for Gandhi's first campaign rally will be announced later, campaign committee convener H K L Bhagat and Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shiela Dikshit said today.
The BJP has organised a number of special meetings of its cadres as well as the public before Vajpayee's rally. Meetings of all MPs, MLAs, and municipal councillors of the party have already been held at the organisational level to prepare for the campaign.
Garg said the Delhi government's performance over the last five years will be highlighted at the rally.
Interestingly, this is also going to be the focus of the Congress campaign, with Gandhi highlighting the breakdown of civic services and law-and-order, Bhagat and Dikshit told reporters.
"A complete mess has been created in Delhi. The citizens have to come out on the roads for basic civic rights," they said. But instead of relief, Delhiites are getting doses of the BJP's infighting and gimmickry like raids on police stations and replacement of the chief minister.
Garg said the BJP's rally will also be addressed by Delhi Chief Minister Sushma Swaraj, Parliamentary Affairs and Tourism Minister Madan Lal Khurana, former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, and himself.
But some BJP politicians are worried about the party's infighting, highlighted by the village mahapanchayat (super-council) organised by several villages in Outer Delhi after Jat leader Verma was asked to step down.
One politician said the rally would be a litmus test for the BJP and will be keenly watched to see if Verma's supporters turn up or create any problems.
Interestingly, Khurana too is unlikely to attend the rally, though the party claims he will address it. Sources close to the minister said he is leaving for Rajgir in Bihar tonight and will be away for two or three days.
UNI
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