Opponents: Priyanka at the Karachi match

New Delhi, March 17: Feroze Varun Gandhi is among the newest BJP entrants to be handpicked to campaign in a big way – not just in Uttar Pradesh where his mother Maneka will contest from, but other states as well.

Varun has the advantage of sporting the country’s most politically recognisable surname, but BJP sources said senior leaders have been “impressed” by the new entrant’s “knowledge” of politics and the way he formulated his stand on various issues, including aunt Sonia’s “foreign” origin.

The BJP tested out Varun’s campaigning prowess in Maharashtra recently and he was given full marks by a special cell of party functionaries that is monitoring the performances of all key canvassers.

Varun today met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and sought his blessings before he set out on a nearly two-month-long election tour. Party sources said the Prime Minister wished him good luck. The youngster called on BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu yesterday for the same reason.

Party sources said Varun’s enthusiasm and energy are infectious, but admit the “dynasty” connection may prove handy if cousins Priyanka and Rahul campaign for the Congress.

Varun in New Delhi. (AFP, PTI)

The young man has said he wants to steer clear of family politics and does not wish to drag his aunt or cousins into his campaign, but the BJP may use him as a defence against Priyanka’s charisma. The rave reviews she received when she attended last week’s Karachi one-dayer along with husband Robert and brother Rahul have disconcerted the BJP. “What was the need for the TV channels to make such a song and dance about her (Priyanka’s) presence? She was there like any other spectator,” a senior leader said.

To begin with, Varun may be asked to address the special conventions the BJP will hold for first-time voters from next week onwards.

BJP spokesman Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today that the party will formally flag off its campaign on April 6 with a rally in Lucknow to be jointly addressed by Vajpayee and his deputy .K. Advani. The deputy Prime Minister heads to Ayodhya the next day on his Bharat Uday yatra.

April 6 will see the BJP carpet-bomb the country with public meetings involving almost all top and second-rung leaders. Naidu will be in Gujarat, Murli Manohar Joshi in Orissa, Jaswant Singh in Kerala, Pramod Mahajan in Rajasthan, Arun Jaitley in Punjab, Sushma Swaraj in Madhya Pradesh and Naqvi in Jammu and Kashmir. The Hindutva face will be represented by Narendra Modi in Maharashtra and Uma Bharti in Bihar.