Home Minister P. Chidambaram called on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani at his residence on Thursday to brief him on intelligence alerts about political leaders being targeted by terrorist groups during campaigning."It was basically a briefing on the safety measures that needed to be taken while campaigning," Advani's personal secretary Deepak Chopra told IANS.
Chidambaram last week cautioned 40 VVIPs, including leaders of political parties and chief ministers, to take all precautions while campaigning and specifically detailed a list of dos and don'ts while venturing out during electioneering. Leaders on the radar of various terror groups include Advani, AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, union ministers Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony and the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal.
The advisory to some of those on the hit list instructs them to keep police in the loop about their campaign routes, not to accept garlands while campaigning, not to mingle closely with surging crowds and keep security agencies aware of a change of election roadshows.