Manipur Polls 2017: PM Narendra Modi to be BJP’s election face

BJP in Manipur has started its election campaign in and around Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party has refrained from projecting a chief ministerial face and has stated that Modi is the party’s face for the assembly polls.

ET was the first to report, in its January 23 edition, that BJP is not going to project a CM face in the state.

Modi will address an election rally on February 25 in Kangla Fort in Imphal. Besides Assam’s health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will also hit the campaign trail.

Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, who is the election-incharge of BJP in the state, claimed that not projecting a chief ministerial candidate is part of party’s strategy. “We didn’t projected chief ministerial face in Bihar, Maharashtra and now in Uttar Pradesh. We projected chief ministerial candidate for Assam polls. For different states there are different strategies.”

Javadekar rubbished the claim that party does not have anyone to project as chief ministerial face. “We have several deserving people and I assure the people of Manipur if BJP wins they will get an able chief minister.” Ajay Jamwal, BJP’s northeast zonal organising secretary, told ET:

“Modi will address only one election rally in Manipur on February 25. We are seeing that the people’s mood here is for change. We are getting massive support from the people.”

60 assembly constituencies of Manipur will go to polls on March 4 and 8. Political analyst opined that not projecting chief ministerial face is aimed at keeping at bay the factionalism in the party in Manipur.