Headlines
Worried BJP ropes in Harsh Vardhan to boost Bedi
New Delhi, Feb 1
Troubled by reports that the
voters of Krishna Nagar, the constituency of BJP chief ministerial
candidate Kiran Bedi, are not warming up to her, the senior leadership
has directed local heavyweight and union minister Harsh Vardhan to "put
in extra efforts" to ensure that Bedi wins here by a comfortable margin,
party sources said.
Considered to be a "traditional seat" of the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Harsh Vardhan - the party's chief
ministerial candidate in the 2013 assembly polls and now a union
minister in the Narendra Modi government - held the Krishna Nagar seat
since 1993 before winning the Chandni Chowk seat in the April-May 2014
general elections.
Sources said party workers of the east Delhi
locality, home to mostly middle-class families, are "demoralised" with
Harsh Vardhan being replaced by Bedi, who is being seen as an outsider.
"The
response to her road shows and public meetings in Krishna Nagar has
been lukewarm. We were expecting better," a party leader, requesting
anonymity, told IANS.
"The party has realized that the face of
the campaigning has to be Harsh Vardhan whosoever is the candidate. He
has been asked to put in extra efforts to ensure her victory," the
leader added.
Reports of a rift between Harsh Vardhan and Bedi
have also been doing the rounds for some time now. After joining the
party Jan 15, Bedi had called all the seven Delhi MPs to her residence
for tea Jan 20. As Harsh Vardhan arrived late, Bedi left without meeting
him, reportedly leaving the minister for science and technology and
earth sciences fuming, the sources told IANS.
Harsh Vardhan
however accompanied Bedi on her first road show in Krishna Nagar Jan 21,
when she filed her nomination papers, and at subsequent public
meetings.
Again, earlier this week, Harsh Vardhan was absent from
a rally Bedi addressed in Krishna Nagar, apparently peeved by Bedi's
remark at a few days earlier: "Doctor sahib (Harsh Vardhan) has been
taking care of Krishna Nagar, now I will also be your doctor."
The
rising differences between the two have left the top leadership worried
and with less than a week to go for the polls, the party is desperate
to ensure that they reconcile.
"Although it is a safe seat for
Bedi, the party wants her to win it by an impressive margin. Moreover,
she cannot afford not to have him (Harsh Vardhan) on board as he is the
local popular leader.
"The voters can also make out if things are
not right," the sources said, adding that specific instructions have
been given to Harsh Vardhan to be present at all of Bedi's public
meetings and rallies as well as intensify the door-to-door campaign.
"He has been assigned the job of making sure that people vote for her (Bedi)," the sources added.
Meanwhile, the BJP has officially denied that Bedi is facing any challenges.
"She
is not facing any problems in Krishna Nagar. She is getting the love
and support from all the people and will win the seat easily," BJP state
unit spokesperson BJP Ashwini Upadhyay told IANS.
(Rahul Vaishnavi can be contacted at [email protected])