The Hindu : National : BJP leaders to launch letter campaign for Shekhawat

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Tuesday, Jul 03, 2007
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BJP leaders to launch letter campaign for Shekhawat

Gargi Parsai

NDA forms State election panels; senior leaders to address rallies

Sushma Swaraj appeals to UNPA to back Shekhawat
Says Shiv Sena might change mind on supporting Pratibha

NEW DELHI: To mobilise support for the National Democratic Alliance-backed Presidential candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, senior BJP leaders Rajnath Singh, L.K. Advani and Jaswant Singh will write a joint letter to all State party units. Later, a meeting would be held with the alliance partners to make a similar appeal to their State units and legislators, sources said.

This was decided on Monday at a meeting held at the residence of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Separately, Mr. Shekhawat will also reach out to the electorate through mail.

Special invitee

NDA convener George Fernandes was a special invitee to the meeting. He recently issued a public appeal to Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray to change his mind about supporting United Progressive Alliance candidate Pratibha Patil.

Mr. Fernandes is also likely to meet Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who has so far not declared her support for Mr. Shekhawat. She did not sign his nomination papers either.

Mr. Shekhawat’s spokesperson, Sushma Swaraj, maintained on Monday that the Sena might change its mind, and that Ms. Banerjee was “with them.” About All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief J. Jayalalithaa’s statement on Sunday that the United National Progressive Alliance would “abstain” from voting, Ms. Swaraj said that if its intention was to see that the Congress candidate was defeated, “then our appeal to them would be to support Mr. Shekhawat.”

She declined to comment on Ms. Patil’s denial in Chennai of the accusations against her, saying they had neither taken notice of the allegations nor made them.

The NDA has formed State Election Management Committees. Each panel will comprise the State party president, the person in charge of the State party, the chief whip and two MPs each. In the non-BJP ruled States, the alliance leader will head the committee. Although no whip can be issued for the Presidential election, the chief whip is the medium of contact with the MPs and MLAs.

Ms. Swaraj said she would address a meeting of party workers in Rajasthan on July 4. Murli Manohar Joshi would address members in Uttar Pradesh on July 9, and M. Venkiah Naidu and Ravi Shankar Prasad would canvass in Karnataka and Uttarakhand. Mr. Advani would take part in a meeting in Madhya Pradesh on July 10, while Arun Jaitley would hold a joint meeting with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar.

The NDA’s Parliamentary Party, barring the Shiv Sena, will meet here on July 17.

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