Jhansi:
The outspoken Uma Bharti of the BJP on Monday talked about the oratorical skills of her party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and those of the man he wants to emulate, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. She found Mr Modi wanting.
"Vajpayeeji was a good orator. People say that there has been no orator like him in Indian politics. If you have paid attention then you would know that Modi is not a good orator. People go to his rallies not to listen to his speech but to tell him that they want him to change this country and they stand by him," Ms Bharti said, while campaigning in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, from where she has been nominated by the BJP to contest the general election. (
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Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the only BJP leader to have held the post of Prime Minister. Mr Modi hopes to change that statistic - opinion polls say he has a good chance in this election. In his speeches, he often evokes the legacy of Mr Vajpayee, considered the gold standard of leadership in the BJP.
Mr Vajpayee, who effortlessly ran a coalition government of over 20 parties for six years, is renowned for his oratory, both in Parliament and outside. Ms Bharti, who describes herself as a monk or sanyasin, had served as minister in his government.
She was, however, expelled from the BJP in 2005 for "indiscipline" and was re-inducted only in 2011.