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New Delhi: The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has identified the core issues which it feels may help it come to power at the centre next year.
While a couple of emotional and two national issues will form part of its campaign, the party has also identified the person to mastermind its campaigning.
Party general secretary Arun Jaitley, considered lucky mascot of the BJP, is the man chosen to fine-tune issues and to give shape to an effective campaign.
The issues the party's core group have identified include the government's failure to rein in soaring inflation and growing incidents of terrorist attacks in the country, and two pro-Hindu issues handed over to it inadvertently by the ruling coalition in the form of a row over the cancellation of land allotted to the holy Amarnath shrine and controversy over mythological underwater Ram Setu (Adam's bridge).
"Even assuming the Lok Sabha elections are held as per the original schedule, it is barley eight months away and we need to be prepared in advance for it since we stand a realistic chance of coming to power," said a senior vice president of the party.
According to indications available, BJP chief Rajnath Singh may take a backseat allowing Jaitley to mastermind its campaigning while its prime ministerial candidate Lal Krishna Advani would take the front stage.
Good track record
With a string of creditable victories under his belt, Jaitley has emerged the party's lucky mascot and is recognised even by his opponents as a master strategist.
He helped the party to victory in states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.
Leading Supreme Court lawyer by profession, Jaitley has the knack of picking up issues and formulating the party's arguments and stand.
He rarely addresses rallies, but equips star campaigners to create waves among the voters with his valuable tips.
After lying low for a while following the ruling coalition's victory at last month's trust vote in Parliament over the contentious Indo-US nuclear deal, the BJP has concluded that time it ripe to look beyond the nuclear deal.
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