To cut ice with voters, BJP to use Vajpayee appeal

After the absence of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee cost the party dear in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to come out with an appeal to the voters from the ailing leader tomorrow and harness it liberally in the three poll-bound states.

“Vajpayee will issue an appeal to the voters of Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh on behalf of the BJP tomorrow. Our spokesperson Prakash Javadekar and I will call on him in this regard,” BJP election in-charge Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

Naqvi said though he was still not aware of what the appeal would be, the probability of a letter from the veteran leader to the electorate could not be ruled out.

In some of the recent elections, Vajpayee has issued appeals to voters through letters and a section of the party still swears by the sway he has among the people.

The appeal will include old clippings of Vajpayee’s speeches (both audio and video), sources said. Vajpayee, 85, is suffering from heart-related ailments.

The BJP had centred the Lok Sabha poll campaign around its prime ministerial candidate L K Advani but it did not cut much ice with voters as the party was reduced to 116 seats from 138 in 2004.

Vajpayee’s appeal is likely to mention the steps taken by the NDA government led by him for Maharashtra, Haryana and the special packages for development of north-eastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh.