India, May 13 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deployed a system to get all its first-time contestants mentored by party veterans in all things electoral, senior leaders said on Sunday.

The system, they said, was a throwback to the Mahabharata in which Krishna was charioteer (sarathi) to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. His role was not just to drive Arjuna's chariot but to be his guide, advising him on the practical as well as moral aspects of warfare. This idea of the sarathi has been revived in the party's campaign plan for the general elections to help fresh contenders and also those facing a particularly difficult contest, said the leaders cited above.

Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla has been assigned this role for comme...