Delhi Polls 2015: Narendra Modi remains face as BJP plays caste & region card

NEW DELHI: BJP has decided to play the caste and region card in the Delhi Assembly elections by fielding Union ministers and office-bearers for campaigning in seats that have a sizeable number of voters from the region or caste these leaders belong to.

Party sources said BJP President Amit Shah and his core team has given responsibilities to Union ministers based on the demographic profile of each of the 70 seats in Delhi.

"Shah has given charge of campaigning to various Union ministers and leaders based on the constituency profiles. Union minister Krishna Pal Gujjar will primarily campaign in seats which have sizeable Gujjar population, Birendra Singh and Sanjeev Baliyan will be fielded in Jatdominated seats, Ananth Kumar in seats having South Indian voters, Piyush Goyal and Harsh Vardhan in constituencies which have a good number of baniya voters and so on. BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain has been given charge of Matia Mahal and Ballimaran where majority of the voters are Muslims," a party leader said.

However, some of the senior party leaders and ministers will also closely monitor and run the campaign in various parts of Delhi irrespective of their background. Nirmala Sitharaman, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajya Sabha MP Bhupendra Yadav and Kailash Vijayvargiya will oversee the campaign in some key constituencies. Shah has made it clear to the party rank and file that winning Delhi is crucial and no stone should be left unturned to win the polls. Even senior ministers like Arun Jaitley will actively engage in the party’s efforts to beat Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party.

BJP brass was huddled in a series of meetings at the party headquarters and the Delhi state office on Tuesday to discuss the strategy and distribution of responsibilities for the February 7 elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue to be the face of the campaign and will hold four rallies in the capital on January 31, February 1, 3 and 4 to woo voters.

Shah will lead the attack on Kejriwal and "expose his lies and Goebbelsian tactics" by countering the AAP chief’s charges against the BJP, sources said.