Vadodara:
Nine-year-old Sangeeta Porbadiya has recently received a new school bag from the government in Gujarat. The canvas satchel has a photo of iconic BJP leader and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee; right next to it is a picture of
Narendra Modi, the state's chief minister.
Mr Modi's recent promotion to campaign-in-charge cost his party its biggest ally, the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), which describes the chief minister as a divisive leader who did not do enough to protect hundreds of Muslims who were killed during the Gujarat riots in 2002.
The 4,500 school bags and one lakh notebooks distributed this week to government schools in Vadodara are being seen as a part of a campaign to project the chief minister as a moderate and inclusive leader.
Education officials fail that theory. "We have used the pictures because Atal Bihari Vajpayee had coined the slogan 'School Chalo' (let's go to school) and the Chief Minister has worked tirelessly for that goal," said Chairman of the Municipal School Board, Keyur Rokdiya.
The school bags and notebooks are distributed across the state every year, especially in rural areas, as part of a scheme started 10 years ago to motivate children to attend school. The government claims that the scheme has reduced the drop-out rate in schools. Mr Modi's photo has always been used for school kits. This is the first time that Mr Vajpayee has been featured.
In recent years, Mr Modi has tried to replace his image as a right-wing hardliner with that of an efficient administrator who has powered an economic overhaul of his state.
His impressive re-election in December - he has begun his fourth term as chief minister - has steered a high-decibel clamour among party cadres for Mr Modi to run for prime minister.
Within his party, there is a faction that believes he is too polarising a leader to attract much-needed allies, many of whom are dependent on the support of Muslim voters.