01-14-2009, 03:22 AM
BJP youth wing plumps for Advani
Neena Vyas
NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday embarked upon a country-wide plan to promote L.K. Advani as the next prime minister.
The partyâs youth wing has been asked to carry the short, crisp message â âAdvani for PMâ â to all those below the age of 35, especially the majority of first-time voters between 18 and 25 years.
Amit Thakkar, president of the BJPâs Youth Morcha, displayed stickers for distribution that said âAdvani for PM www.lkadvani.in.â
âThe idea is to get the young people to go to the website of Mr. Advani. Internet is the preferred tool of communication of the young people,â Mr. Thakkar told reporters.
When party spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy was asked whether the BJP was trying to build an Advani brand, his response was: âYes, you have got it.â
Huge poster
A huge poster inside the BJP central office here displays Mr. Advaniâs picture. It says: âfather, mother, brother, sister; Advani for Prime Minister.â A party leader explained the meaning thus: âIt means all fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, in short, all people, want Advani as prime minister.â
Mr. Thakkar said the youth wing planned to organise conventions of youth and first-time voters in as many constituencies as possible ahead of the Lok Sabha election to spread the message. Research done by him showed that, for example, in Mr. Advaniâs Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, there were 2,72,000 voters in the age group of 18 to 25 and more than 40 per cent voters would be below 35.