Gandhi scion to lead dharna on May 4

LUCKNOW: With speculations rife that Pilibhit MP Varun Gandhi might contest from Sultanpur in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls for which he would be the star campaigner of the party, the Gandhi scion will stage a one-day dharna at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Smritika in Lucknow on May 4 to protest against "scam-infested" Congress-led UPA governmentin Lucknow on May 4.
Coincidently, the state BJP is expected to hold a meeting on May 4 to shortlist the possible candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.The meeting, as confirmed earlier by state BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpayi, is likely to be attended by party's national general secretary Varun Gandhi and national vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.Varun's elevation as general secretary, party insiders say, hints at a bigger role planned for him in UP by national president Rajnath Singh. Further, it indicates a shift towards the youth brigade in the UP unit in an attempt to curb factionalism, which has often led to electoral losses.
With 80 Lok Sabha seats, UP holds the key to the Central government. The state is likely to see a triangular battle among youth icons -- Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, SP's Akhilesh Yadav and BJP's Varun Gandhi.
"Varun is the symbol of youth's expectations," state BJP chief Laxmikant Bajpayi had said while reacting to former's elevation some time back.He added that the average age of leaders inducted in the BJP national executive from UP is only 50 years, considered "young" in Indian polity.
However, not all UP BJP leaders are happy with the prominence being given to Varun. Vinay Katiyar, who had said that Varun got the benefit of being a Gandhi, who had failed to retain his vice-president post in the new Rajnath team, had told TOI: "I had only said that Gandhi is powerful and like Rahul Gandhi, Varun could also be powerful with Gandhi as his surname." Katiyar has failed to find a place in th new BJP team formed by Rajnath Singh. TNN
On May 4, the state BJP led by national general secretary Varun Gandhi would stage a dharna at the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Smritika to protest against "scam-infested" Congress-led UPA government in a bid to expose them, said state BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak.
He added that UPA-II has become synonymous with corruption. He said there was concerted effort at the top level to water down the scams at the Centre. Taking a dig at SP and BSP, Pathak said both the parties are equally responsible as they are protecting the UPA-II government.