Smriti Irani among star campaigners; not to contest Delhi assembly polls

New Delhi: The list of BJP's star campaigners released on Wednesday put an end to all the speculations that the party might field Smriti Irani in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

Irani's name is listed at number 35 in the list of 40 star campaigners.

The other name making the rounds is Nupur Sharma, who sparked widespread controversy in May 2022 with objectionable comments about Prophet Muhammad during a televised debate. She was subsequently suspended from the BJP.

The saffron party is yet to announce 11 candidates for the elections scheduled to be held on February 5.

The list of star campaigners includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, as well as its seven chief ministers, including Yogi Adityanath.

The list also includes Purvanchali leaders, including Bhojpuri stars and MPs Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan, and Dinesh Lal Yadav Nirahua. Purvanchalis -- people from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar -- constitute a sizeable vote bank in the national capital.

The Union ministers named as star campaigners for the Assembly polls are Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Hardeep Singh Puri and Giriraj Singh.

The seven chief ministers, who will campaign in Delhi as BJP's star campaigners, are Devendra Fadnavis, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Yogi Adityanath, Bhajan Lal Sharma, Nayab Singh Saini and Mohan Yadav.

All the seven MPs from Delhi are also part of the list. Delhi BJP in-charge Baijayant Panda, co-incharge Alka Gurjar, and the party's state unit chief Virendra Sachdeva will also be star campaigners for the polls.

The BJP, which has been out of power since 1998, is making concerted efforts to dethrone the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party which has been ruling Delhi since 2015.

Sources in the party said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address two-three rallies in the city while Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address seven poll rallies in each of the Lok Sabha constituencies of the city.

"There is also demand for roadshows by the prime minister in Delhi, but a final decision is yet to be taken by the top party leadership," a BJP functionary said.