New Delhi, February 1
To bolster the prospect of victory of SAD-BJP combine in the Assembly polls, cine stars Hema Malini, Vinod Khanna and Mukesh Khanna are likely to campaign in phases in Punjab even as Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Home Minister L.K. Advani will be addressing a series of public meetings in the state.
While Hema Malini and Vinod Khanna, a sitting MP from Gurdaspur, have already confirmed their participation in the campaign though the exact dates have not been firmed up, Mukesh Khanna of the Mahabharat fame is yet to confirm, party sources said here today.
In all probability Hema Malini was likely to tour Punjab on February 11, they said.
Mr Vajpayee would pay a one-day visit to Punjab on February 6 and he would address public meetings at
Ferozepore, where Sukhpal Singh Saini was BJP nominee and at Pathankot, from where Master Mohan Lal was contesting for the party, the sources said.
There could be last minute changes in Prime Minister’s schedule due to security reasons, they added.
Mr Advani would begin his Punjab tour with a press conference at Chandigarh on February 7. The same day he would address public meetings in Rajpura, Morinda and Nangal constituencies, they said.
The next day, the Home Minister would address a public meeting in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Moga and Amritsar, they said.
However, the campaign for the BJP would be kicked off by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj tomorrow and she would address a series of public meetings in Nabha, Dhuri, Sherpur, Jagraon, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Sangrur, Budhlada, Mansa, Sarduigarh and Bathinda, the sources said.
Ms Swaraj’s three-day campaign would end on February 4.
Among other top leaders of the BJP, who would be campaigning were Law Minister Arun Jaitley, Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and senior BJP leader Sangapriya
Gautam.
