File photo: BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha
Shatrughan Sinha, who has persistently courted trouble with his party recently, is included in the
list of the BJP's star campaigners for the Bihar assembly elections.
The star brigade is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has held four rallies in the state so far that drew huge crowds. The BJP and its regional allies are not projecting a chief ministerial candidate and are seeking votes for PM Modi and his development agenda.
Also on the list of star campaigners, which every political party must submit to the Election Commission, are party veterans LK Advani and Murli Manihar Joshi and union ministers Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh.
BJP chief Amit Shah will also campaign for his party in Bihar as will TV-actress-turned-politician Smriti Irani, who is the Union Education Minister. BJP Chief Ministers like Shivraj Singh Chauhan from Madhya Pradesh will also campaign.
Shatrughan Sinha, the party's MP from Patna has not proved to be the BJP's most ardent ambassador in recent days. His periodic tweets in praise of and meetings with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have been irritants for the BJP at a time when it hopes to deprive Mr Kumar of a third consecutive term in office.
Mr Sinha has also offered public criticism of party decisions like not projecting a chief minister for the Bihar elections and has embarrassed the party by suggesting that it pick a candidate for the state's top post from among its regional allies like Ram Vilas Paswan.
Critics say this is Mr Sinha's disgruntlement with being side-lined in the party on display. The actor-turned-politician, who has also been a Union minister earlier had reportedly fancied his chances as a potential BJP chief minister.
The BJP takes on an alliance led by Nitish Kumar in a tough battle in Bihar, which will vote in five phases beginning October 12. Votes will be counted on November 8.