Shekhawat switches over to Tata Indicom for campaign
Unlike the UPA’s presidential nominee, Ms Pratibha Patil, who has set a scorching pace for herself, visiting every state capital to solicit votes, her rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is staying put in the Capital till July 19.
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Unlike the UPA’s presidential nominee, Ms Pratibha Patil, who has set a scorching pace for herself, visiting every state capital to solicit votes, her rival Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is staying put in the Capital till July 19. It is not that he won’t be stepping out of his residence in the interregnum. He will, but only to address official functions.
Even before the Election Commission could come out with its directive asking the two presidential candidates to refrain from using official machinery to drum up support for themselves, Mr Shekhawat, according to sources close to him, had decided against using the plane services to court the members of the Electoral College. The last time he travelled outside the Capital was on June 25, and he has since then refused to budge from his official residence to secure backing for his candidature.
Irked with his obduracy, his campaign-managers offered to charter a plane to enable him to criss-cross the country. The offer, too, was politely turned down as he felt that he was hamstrung with the protocol that goes along with his post.
The vice-president, it is learnt, has also dispensed with the official phones and has got a personal phone installed to enable him to connect with the members of the electoral college. And it is not the state-owned MTNL or the “Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein” Reliance Telecom which was selected to act as his messenger. The honour has gone to Tata Indicom, and Mr Shekhawat has been using the instrument supplied by the company to speak to members of the Electoral College.
Aware that his actions would be subjected to close scrutiny, the NDA-backed candidate has even asked his campaign managers not to use the paper provided to him in his official capacity to bring out xerox copies of campaign material circulated by his camp.
With Mr Shekhawat refusing to step out his official bungalow to mobilise support, his backers in the NDA have taken it upon themselves to woo the voters.
The NDA has, meanwhile, also formed state-level election management committees to lobby for its presidential candidate. The panels will be headed by senior leaders of the alliance in each state. A series of meetings have been planned in the state capitals, and the first such gathering will take place in Jaipur on Wednesday. The meeting will be addressed by the BJP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Ms Sushma Swaraj.
Even before the Election Commission could come out with its directive asking the two presidential candidates to refrain from using official machinery to drum up support for themselves, Mr Shekhawat, according to sources close to him, had decided against using the plane services to court the members of the Electoral College. The last time he travelled outside the Capital was on June 25, and he has since then refused to budge from his official residence to secure backing for his candidature.
Irked with his obduracy, his campaign-managers offered to charter a plane to enable him to criss-cross the country. The offer, too, was politely turned down as he felt that he was hamstrung with the protocol that goes along with his post.
The vice-president, it is learnt, has also dispensed with the official phones and has got a personal phone installed to enable him to connect with the members of the electoral college. And it is not the state-owned MTNL or the “Kar Lo Duniya Mutthi Mein” Reliance Telecom which was selected to act as his messenger. The honour has gone to Tata Indicom, and Mr Shekhawat has been using the instrument supplied by the company to speak to members of the Electoral College.
Aware that his actions would be subjected to close scrutiny, the NDA-backed candidate has even asked his campaign managers not to use the paper provided to him in his official capacity to bring out xerox copies of campaign material circulated by his camp.
With Mr Shekhawat refusing to step out his official bungalow to mobilise support, his backers in the NDA have taken it upon themselves to woo the voters.
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Former deputy Prime Minister LK Advani is likely to make a personal appeal to the members of the Electoral College, and hand-written letters containing the request are likely to go out by Thursday. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is likely to follow suit soon after.The NDA has, meanwhile, also formed state-level election management committees to lobby for its presidential candidate. The panels will be headed by senior leaders of the alliance in each state. A series of meetings have been planned in the state capitals, and the first such gathering will take place in Jaipur on Wednesday. The meeting will be addressed by the BJP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Ms Sushma Swaraj.
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