All political parties are leaving no stones unturned when it comes to campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress and BJP have roped in star campaigners to woo voters. While the Congress-BJP has Raj Thackeray, the ruling BJP have roped in Republican Party of India’s (RPI) president Ramdas Athawale. Athawale is in high demand for his ability to entertain, draw Dalit votes.
According to Mumbai Mirror, the BJP has also allocated a helicopter for Athawale to take him to every nook and corner of the state. Athawale has attended all rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi held in Maharashtra so far, and he is always the only speaker at the rally apart from Modi himself and Fadnavis.
“Apart from Athawale’s couplets and funny anecdotes, which entertain the audience in general, his speech helps in attracting Dalit votes in large numbers, and that’s why many candidates are demanding that he should address at least one rally in their constituency,” a senior BJP leader told the leading daily.
Ramdas Athawale has so far held 15 rallies of his own and has attended the process of filing nominations by many senior BJP leaders. With Athawale roped in as star campaigner, the BJP is planning to bank on Neo Buddhist community votes, which were earlier hostile to the party.
