Key Points
. Apart from the usual lists of candidates, political parties have started releasing the names of star campaigners, who may tilt the balance in their favour..
The two principal contenders, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have announced their star campaigners for Lok Sabha polls in some states..
In fact, the BJP has named four incumbent members of parliament (MPs) -- including controversial lawmaker Anant Kumar Hegde -- who have been denied tickets by the party as its star campaigners for Karnataka in the Lok Sabha elections...
The principal Opposition party, Congress, which is hoping to turn the tables on the ruling BJP, has included former party presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi in its list of star campaigners..
Last week, for example, the Sharad Pawar faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) filed a complaint with the Election Commission against the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena for violating the Representation of the People Act and Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by publishing the names of leaders from other parties as their star campaigners..
