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| Rahul and Varun Gandhi may face each other | | Rift between Advani and Rajnath Singh divides BJP | | From B L KAK
NEW DELHI, July 2: Differences of opinion have cropped up between LK Advani and his BJP president, Rajnath Singh, over the question of fielding Maneka Gandhi's son, Varun Gandhi, as the BJP campaigner in the upcoming Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
If the heavyweight, Advani, has his way, Varun Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi may come face to face during the UP elections. Varun and Sonia Gandhi's son, Rahul Gandhi, represent two different political streams of India and are two grandsons of former Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.
Advani, who quit as the BJP president in January this year, has mooted the idea of fielding Varun as the party's star campaigner during Uttar Pradesh polls. Varun Gandhi's cousin,Rahul Gandhi, is set to play the same role for the Congress party, although the party is yet to decide on whether to use him just for campaigning or make him in-charge of the State.
Diferences, though minor, between Advani and Rajnath Singh seem to have divided the BJP. Advani's successor (Rajnath Singh) is not very keen on using Varun Gandhi. Varun, according to Rajnath Singh, unlike Rahul Gandhi, has limited attraction among the voters in UP.
Advani has proposed nominating Varun as the BJP candidate from Vidisha seat during the Lok Sabha by-election expected to be held in October this year. The idea is that as a member of Parliament Varun will have increased attraction among voters of the land of his ancestors. The Madhya Pradesh unit of the BJP, including incumbent Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is opposed to fostering outsider Varun at Vidisha, the seat vacated by Chouhan last month following his election to the State Assembly in May this year.
The BJP is looking at various ways to boost its diminishing chances of capturing power in Uttar Pradesh, including giving a greater say to the parent body Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in organising its messy affairs in the run-up to the Assembly polls. The RSS, however, has left it to the BJP to do the campaigning while its full-time organisers will do the door-to-door canvassing.
Advani's idea behind fielding Varun against his more illustrious cousin Rahul, who is already an MP, is due to a perceived dearth of star campaigners. The party is already feeling the absence of Uma Bharati, whom Advani had expelled in December, and death of Pramod Mahajan.
Among the senior leaders, former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, may not address more than half a dozen meetings due to his falling health that has restricted his movements. The situation is more or less the same in the provincial unit where State unit president Keshari Nath Tripathi and senior leader Kalraj Mishra are considered past their primes while three-time Chief Minister Kalyan Singh is battling poor health.
Vinay Katiyar's image has received a severe jolt after he fared miserably against Sonia Gandhi in the May Lok Sabha by-poll at Rae Bareli.
Varun Gandhi, 10 years junior to Rahul, is said to be close to both Rahul and his younger sister Priyanka despite having drifted into different political parties. Although Varun played a key role in ensuring an impressive victory for his mother, Maneka, from Pilibhit during 2004 general elections, he refused to campaign against aunt Sonia and cousin Rahul at Rae Bareli and Amethi respectively.
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