Modi, Shah & Deol among BJP's 40 star campaigners

New Delhi: The BJP released its list of star campaigners for the ensuing Delhi polls, on Wednesday, which featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bollywood star Sunny Deol. Sources said that the party had planned to hold smaller public meetings to reach out voters. Apart from Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and ABVP's general secretary (Organisation) B L Santosh were among 40-star campaigners of the party.

Some of the inclusions like that of Union Minister Smriti Irani is tactical. Her ability to flawlessly converse in Bengali can be used by the party during its campaign amid a sizeable Bengali community in the national capital. Santosh's southern origin is expected to be used in areas like Karol Bagh and Mayur Vihar where there is a sizable presence of south Indians. Similarly, Manoj Tiwari, who is not just Delhi BJP chief but a popular Bhojpuri singer and actor along with Ravi Kishan, are there to woo the significant Purvanchali voters who hail from Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh.

For the "pahadi" community that has made Delhi their home for long, BJP's new President J P Nadda is being projected as their own man, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur, his protege, former Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Anurag Thakur will be pressed to reach out to them.

Sources in the party revealed that BJP will be focussing on smaller public meetings consisting of 250-450 people. There is a possibility that hundreds of such meetings will be held across the city.

Sources said that party leaders think that through small gatherings they will able to reach out voters in an impactful manner where they will be able to inform people about their policies as well as their plan for the development of voters in Delhi. According to sources, organising big rallies is a challenging task but in small meetings, BJP will be able to reach out to their target groups more easily.

Sunny Deol, the BJP MP known for his "ye dhai kilo ka haath" dialogue that many expected from him during Lok Sabha campaign in Punjab's Gurdaspur, has also been included in the list.