BJP to field 75-plus leaders but no ministerial berths for old guards!

New Delhi, Aug 3: There is a slight shift in the election strategy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when it decides to field leaders above 75-years of age to contest Lok Sabha elections. The earlier stand of the party was not to field leaders above 75-years however the party is categorical that they won't be made ministers. The party may even clarify its stand soon in this regard.

Sources said that as per the new strategy, the party will field leaders above 75-years of age but they will not be given ministerial berth in the Union cabinet. As by not allowing leaders above 75 years of age to contest Lok Sabha elections might harm the party. Many important leaders like L K Advani from Gujarat, M M Joshi, Kalraj Mishra from Uttar Pradesh, Sumitra Mahajan from Madhya Pradesh, Hukum Dev Narayan Singh Yadav from Bihar and B S Yeddyurappa from Karnataka would have been denied tickets with this rule as they have crossed the so-called threshold limit which the party cannot afford to do.

Sources said that these leaders not only win their seats but also impact neighbouring seats from where they contest elections. In the case of Joshi and Mishra, denial of ticket to them might infuriate Brahmins in UP, similarly Advani too has his influence all across. In case of B S Yeddyurappa the entire Karnataka will be impacted. Hukum Dev Narayan Singh Yadav too impacts couple of seats.

So all these leaders will be given tickets with Advani having the option of either to contest himself or to field his son Jayant Advani replacing him from Gandhi Nagar. But they will not get the chance to sit in treasury benches.