Gujarat polls: Key minority faces Naqvi, Shahnawaz not on BJP star campaigners list

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be keeping its top minority faces out of the Gujarat election campaign. Both Shahnawaz Hussain and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi do not figure in the list of 39 star campaigners for the polls. State minority morcha president Sant Mehboob Ali Baba is BJP's lone minority face who is confirmed for the campaign.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who has been critical of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's style of functioning and is considered close to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, too, is not on the list.

All national leaders and BJP chief ministers are in the list of 39 leaders submitted to the Election Commission. The omissions may be conspicuous. Political analysts are also likely to look at this step of the BJP closely as the BJP needs to push its image as a pro-minority party before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who has been critical of Narendra Modi is also not on the list of the star campaigners.

Responding to a question about the omission of key minority leaders, BJP leader Balbir Punj said it was a small thing. "Many leaders are not going, so what, Punj said.

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