The Aryavarth Express
Agency(Madhya Pradesh): In a surprising development, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti has been conspicuously absent from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) list of star campaigners for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the state. The ruling party, however, has included Suresh Pachauri, a recent defector from the Congress, in its roster of key campaigners.
The BJP released its list of 40 star campaigners for Madhya Pradesh late Tuesday night, featuring prominent figures such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Uma Bharti, who spearheaded the BJP’s victory in the 2003 assembly polls, was also missing from the party’s list of star campaigners during the 2023 state elections.
Earlier this month, the senior BJP leader had announced that she would refrain from contesting elections for the next two years to focus on the rejuvenation of the Ganga river, while clarifying that she would not retire from politics altogether.
In addition to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the BJP’s star campaigners include Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Bhajanlal Sharma (Rajasthan), Bhupendra Patel (Gujarat), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), and Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh). Former Union minister Pachouri, who recently joined the BJP from the Congress, has also secured a spot on the list.
Other notable figures chosen to campaign for BJP candidates include party chief JP Nadda, state unit president VD Sharma, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Smriti Irani, and Virendra Kumar Khatik. Madhya Pradesh’s deputy CMs Jagdish Devda and Rajendra Shukla, along with their counterparts Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra) and Keshav Prasad Maurya (Uttar Pradesh), are also part of the list.
Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Madhya Pradesh cabinet ministers such as Prahlad Patel, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Aidal Singh Kansana, and Tulsi Silawat have been included as well. Former state ministers Gopal Bhargava and Narottam Mishra, and Union ex-minister Satyanarayan Jatia round out the BJP’s star campaigner lineup.