RS lifeline for Jaya from BJP

She was elected to Upper House on the SP ticket

According to reliable sources, Jaya Bachchan, who is nearing her term in the RS, could be provided with another “RS life” by the saffron party. Modi who had come to a strong defence of Amitabh Bachchan as against a recent blistering Congress attack is not averse to the proposal. "The name of Jaya Bachchan is doing round but a concrete decision may not be taken in the immediate future,” sources clarified. 

Bachchan, who has completed the first phase of shooting in the Kutch area of Gujarat, may appear in the television and print advertisements promoting Gujarat tourism from May 1, 2010. This is the time around when the build-up for the World Cup football and Twenty20 cricket matches will also be on the upswing, giving Bachchan and Gujarat a wider focus. The celebration for the completion of 50 years of state's foundation will begin on May 1, this year.

The Bollywood star, whose “political-business-friend” Amar Singh is increasingly cosying up to the Congress, may see a wider promotional role for himself in Gujarat. The state will be holding a mega-event of “Vibrant Gujarat” in 2011 which may offer “brand ambassador” a much bigger role in the state than just being a promoting tourism in the state, sources said.

Jaya Bachchan, inducted into the Samajwadi Party (SP) at the behest of Amar Singh, has not snapped her ties with the party. But she is unlikely to be given another term by the SP.

It is understood that Bachchan may be inducted into the RS even from Gujarat where two RS seats will fall vacant—Ahmed Patel (Congress) and Surendra Patel (BJP)—in 2011. Jaya Bachchan was elected to the RS on the SP ticket in July 2004.

The presence of a star with international profile during Gujarat's 50th anniversary and glitters of the functions lined-up to mark "Vibrant Gujarat" could help Modi bring the state to the mainstream and effectively bury the bad memories of the 2002 riots. 

 "A RS seat for the star wife may be a carrot dangled by Modi to draw Amitabh deeper into re-launching the state image and related activities," the sources claimed.

Modi has been suggesting that the Congress attack on the State government's choice of Amitabh as a brand ambassador is an attack on “sava paanch crore Gujaratis.”