BJP election campaign in Assam is a star-studded affair

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Yesteryear actors ‘Dreamgirl’ Hema Malini, who has recently been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by her party BJP and ‘Shotgun’ Shatrughan Sinha, who is also the saffron party’s MP from Patna Sahib, are among the BJP’s star campaigners for the Assam Assembly polls.

Others leaders for whom the party’s state unit has made special request for campaigining in the poll bound state are cricketer-turned-politician and Amritsar MP, Navjot Singh Siddhu and actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani. Ms Irani is also BJP women’s wing president. Assembly polls for the 126 Assembly constituencies in the state are scheduled for April 4 and 11. BJP has 10 members in the current state Assembly.

Party heavyweights including BJP parliamentary party chairman L.K. Advani, party chief Nitin Gadkari, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, her counterpart in Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi are also scheduled to address more than a dozen public gatherings in the state.

The party has submitted a list of around 40 of its star campaigners to the Election Commission for Assam. Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi and Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda’s name also figure in the list.

Another party leader, who is turning out to be a major crowd puller is former student leader, Sarbananda Sonowal, who recently joined the BJP after quitting AGP.

The BJP, which released its manifesto last month, has promised development and action against corruption in the state.