As Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s Navsarjan Yatra in north Gujarat ended on Monday, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat is set to launch its massive campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr. Modi is likely to address one big rally in each of the 32 districts in the run-up to the Assembly polls in the State.
According to party insiders, Mr. Modi will start campaigning around November 20, after the party declares candidates in its national parliamentary board meeting likely to be held on November 15 and 16.
“We are contesting the polls under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. “PM Modi’s campaign plans are being worked out by the party in consultation with the Prime Minister Office.”
Roadshows
Besides holding public rallies, the Prime Minister is likely to hold roadshows in major cities such as Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Rajkot.
In the past six months, he has visited Gujarat almost 10 times for various government events, including laying the foundation stone for the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai bullet train project, completion of the Narmada dam and inauguration of a ferry service linking south Gujarat and the Saurashtra region via sea route.
In addition to Mr. Modi, as many as 30 Union Ministers will be involved in electioneering in the State. “CMs of all BJP-ruled States and Union Ministers will come for campaigning,” a party leader involved in the campaign strategy said.
Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Prakash Javadekar and Smriti Irani have already participated in the door-to-door campaigning launched across the State by party president Amit Shah. Mr. Shah has also been travelling across the State to meet party leaders and booth-level workers.