Image makeover is ’14 poll mantra

The season of image building exercise has begun ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

If the Congress is focussing more on “social engineering” as seen in the appointments in Bihar and Mumbai Congress committee, the BSP, Samajwadi Party are approaching upper castes in a bid to expand their vote bank.

On the other hand, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi who has been known for his authoritarian style of functioning in the BJP, now wants to be seen as liberal and democratic.

The Congress appointed two dalits —- Ashok Chaudhary as its Bihar unit chief and Janardan Chandurkar as the Mumbai Congress chief — after its Chintan Shivir in Jaipur in January this year to send out a message to the backward castes.

Before that it had made Union minister Sushilkumar Shinde as the Leader of the Lok Sabha.

And a guessing game has begun in the Maharashtra Congress circles whether the AICC would appoint a Muslim as the PCC chief.

This is because barring the Jammu and Kashmir, no PCC is headed by a minority leader.

The Congress did appoint Muslims as the Uttar Pradesh and Bihar PCC presidents but that it did not work in elections .

On the other hand, the BSP and the Samjawadi Party, which have been playing the backward caste politics openly, are now wanting to be acceptable in the upper castes.

They have decided to hold meetings of Brahmins and other upper castes, to send out a message that they want to share power with them.

Mr Modi is subtly changing his language.Once a poster boy of Hindutva after the 2002 Gujarat riots, he is changing his strategy which was seen in his Haridwar speech recently.

Generally, regional parties play caste and regional pride cards in a bid to check the national parties. But they do not speak on national issues.