Congress campaign centered around its `candidate in purdah`: BJP

New Delhi: Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress poll campaign centered around its "candidate in purdah", BJP on Monday said advertising can market a marketable product and not otherwise.

Questioning the Congress poll campaign centered around the Congress vice president, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said it is now coming true that a huge sum of money has been earmarked for his image management. "It now appears that the denial was a phony one. Can an image be built up merely by advertising which is not commensurate with the performance of the candidate sought to be projected? "There are leaders who appear good only when the going is good. In an adverse situation they collapse like a house of cards. Advertising can market a marketable product, not otherwise," he said in an article. Jaitley said the campaign is effectively centered around one person, who is the Congress party`s "candidate in purdah" as there is no mention of the present Prime Minister, the performance of UPA government or even the Congress President. "The entire campaign is centered around Rahul Gandhi. However, Rahul Gandhi indeed is a non-candidate for Prime Ministership (since the party has no official candidate). Why is it that the campaign is centered around him," he asked. The BJP leader said the Congress does not want to admit that it is officially projecting Rahul as prime ministerial candidate as an adverse result may make him accountable. "It is therefore attempting an alternative strategy of having a de facto candidate rather than a de jure candidate. A positive result will be credited to Rahul Gandhi and a negative result will be debited to Congress Party," he said. The BJP also attacked the Congress for the huge advertising budget of Congress ahead of elections.