Sinha launches BJP's poll campaign in Jharkhand

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is seen by many countries as a peace envoy, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said here.

"I have accompanied Vajpayee on foreign trips during which I observed how foreign leaders see him as 'shantidoot' (peace envoy)," Sinha said kicking off BJP's election campaign on Sunday from the Naxal-infested Chatra, 170 km from the state capital Ranchi.

Listing out NDA government's "pro-people" works, Sinha said Vajpayee was miles ahead of all Opposition leaders and the Prime Minister's statesmanship had been attracting the minorities as well.

He claimed that the Congress had been struggling to find allies because Sonia Gandhi-led Congress had a history of betraying political partners.

For the first time in the country, he said, elections were being fought on pro-incumbency factor with development being the key slogan.

On RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav, the BJP's campaigning committee in-charge said the state had struggled for long before coming out of Laloo's Bihar which neglected the Jharkhand portion before division.

He appealed to the electorate to vote for BJP candidate and Minister of State for Social Justice Nagmani and help Vajpayee back to power.

First Published: Mar 22, 2004 00:00 IST