BJP, AAP fighters head to other states

No rest for Tiwari, Girri; Rajmohan also in demand

Now that polling in Delhi is over, at least five city candidates from Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party are headed for other states to campaign for their parties.

Both the parties are trying to cash in on the popularity of their Delhi candidates in parliamentary polls.

Spiritual guru-turned-politician and BJP candidate from East Delhi parliamentary constituency Maheish Girri and Bhojpuri actor-singer and party’s candidate from North-East Delhi Manoj Tiwari will campaign for the party in many states.

Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and AAP candidate from East Delhi, was in Gurgaon on Saturday and will visit several areas in Uttar Pradesh. Party’s North-East Delhi candidate and former JNU professor Anand Kumar will  campaign in Amethi and Varanasi.

Journalist-turned-politician and party’s candidate from Chandni Chowk, Ashutosh is also set to reach Varanasi on Tuesday to campaign against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

“Very soon will campaign in Varanasi too, I mean why only Chandni Chowk should suffer,” said Ashutosh in a post on Twitter.  “Anand Kumar would stay at Varanasi for an entire one month. He might visit Amethi in between,” said Niranjan Singh, a close aide.

Asked if he planned to take some time off  from electioneering, Girri said, “I am going to take a break for a couple of days. I will go to Haridwar for meditation. After rejuvenating in the holy city, I will head towards UP for party’s campaigning. “

“I have a huge following in Varanasi, Patna, Vadodara and many cities of Maharashtra. I will be campaigning for the party till the end of the last phase of the parliamentary polls,” he said.

Tiwari has started his campaign in UP. He went to Lucknow for a public meeting and came back to Delhi late on Saturday evening.

“Tiwari will visit West Bengal, Bihar, UP, Maharashtra Jharkhand , Gujarat, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir and many other parts of the country. He will take only two days off till the end of the parliamentary elections,” a close aide of Tiwari told Deccan Herald.

AAP’s six former cabinet ministers will also camp in Amethi and Varanasi to tell the electorate about their 49-day government’s achievements in Delhi.

The party’s key volunteers are also heading to the two cities to replicate the Delhi campaign’s success. AAP’s IT cell head, Ankit Lal, who reached Varanasi on Saturday, said, “Many AAP leaders have already reached Varanasi and Amethi. And many more will join. My job here is to take care of social media and appeal to youth voters.”

Sanjay Chawla, who heads the party’s auto cell, said he will aim at running an auto poster campaign similar to the one in Delhi during the assembly and parliamentary elections.

The Congress, however, has not planned to use its Delhi candidates, who are also sitting MPs. About New Delhi MP and party candidate Ajay Maken, an aide said he is on a two-day vacation.