The BJP is making full use of its prominent leaders from North India to campaign for the party- led alliance in Maharashtra for the October 21 assembly, but the Congress is lagging behind its rival on this front.
Well-known BJP leaders from the Hindi belt, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, have addressed poll rallies in Mumbai and its neighbouring areas, which have a sizeable number of North Indian voters.
Former Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, a prominent North Indian face of the party in the metropolis, is staying away from campaigning following differences with the leadership over ticket distribution.
Another former Mumbai Congress chief and ex-minister Kripashankar Singh, who, too, has his roots in North India, has left the party.
Besides Singh and Adityanath, several other BJP leaders from the Hindi belt like Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kishan, Jagdambika Pal and popular Bhojpuri actor Nirahua, among others, have addressed rallies in support of saffron alliance candidates in Mumbai and its adjoining areas.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, appointed co-incharge for the Maharashtra elections, has been camping in the state since the last two months, reviewing and coordinating rallies where North India leaders are main speakers.
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On the other hand, the Congress has been able to rope in only Pramod Tiwari, a veteran politician from Uttar Pradesh. The multiple-times MLA is scheduled to be in Mumbai on Friday.
This has left most of the North Indian voters with no other option but to throw their weight behind the BJP, which is ruling the state since 2014.
Vinay Kumar, a hawker who runs a small eatery on a handcart near Ghatkopar station, said usually a majority of North Indians used to be Congress supporters.
"Of late, and especially after the emergence of Narendra Modi on the national scene, they have now shifted their loyalty to the BJP," said Kumar, who is running his small business for the last 20 years.
"You tell me why should I vote for the Congress? Where are their candidates and where are their party leaders? A majority of North Indian leaders have left the Congress.
"Also, no one knows who is the chief ministerial candidate of the Congress-NCP alliance?," he quipped.
BJP spokesperson Prem Shukla said, "Our party has drafted several North Indian leaders as star campaigners, most of them Uttar Pradesh."
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