With less than eight days to go before Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (2nd phase) have assembly polls, it will be no less than a thundering Thursday for the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top duo — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah — both of whom will be in full campaign mode in the two states.
Modi’s ‘triple bill’ campaign in MP, one rally in Rajasthan
Prime Minister Modi — BJP’s ‘campaigner-in-chief’ — will address as many as three big rallies on Thursday in Madhya Pradesh where Shivraj Singh Chouhan is fighting hard to retain power. He will be in Satna, on the eastern fringes of the state, where he will address a rally at 11 in the morning. This will be his second visit to Satna in 15 days.
The PM has another high-voltage rally scheduled in Chattarpur — not far from Satna, at 1 in the afternoon. He will end the day of hyperactive campaigning in Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch where another public rally is scheduled at 4.30 in the afternoon.
This campaign blitz isn’t surprising given that the BJP’s electoral theme in Madhya Pradesh is centred on him — “Modi Ke Mann Mein MP”. In total, the Prime Minister is expected to hold as many as 14 rallies in Madhya Pradesh where Shivraj Singh Chouhan had to take refuge in granting freebies — something the BJP traditionally shuns— faced with anti-incumbency. Though Chouhan — better known as “Mamaji” in the state — has been trying to woo the women with his Ladli Behna Yojana that offers cash incentives to them, there is a palpable sense of “fatigue” that is now associated with him.
Aware of that, the BJP has launched its “brahmastra” — Narendra Modi. Recently, during an address in MP’s Damoh, Modi promised to take the Indian economy to the top of the world if elected for his third term. While in the same breath, he cautioned the people to be aware of the Congress. Many believe that with this national issue-centric electioneering of Modi, the BJP has subtly launched its poll campaign for Modi’s third term early.
PM Modi also has a fourth rally in Rajasthan’s Udaipur — a stronghold of the BJP — at 6 in the evening. Incumbent MLA Gulab Chand Kataria, who has been made the Assam governor recently, asked the people to vote “consciously”. It is speculated that PM Modi may raise the state government’s handling of the horrific Udaipur beheading in his rally there as well as make a strong pitch for Rajputs in the politically sensitive Mewar region where the BJP has fielded Vishwaraj Singh, a descendant of Maharana Pratap.
Shah’s 6 events in Chhattisgarh, rath ride in itinerary
The second most trusted face of the BJP — home minister Amit Shah — has his day full of events scheduled to take place in poll-bound Chhattisgarh. From rallies to mega roadshows — Shah has all this and more lined up for Thursday.
His day starts with a public rally in Bagicha, which falls under the Jashpur assembly seat in Chhattisgarh. He will address BJP supporters and make a case for ousting the Bhupesh Baghel government — which is facing allegations over the Mahadev app scam — at 12 pm.
One and a half hours later, he will travel on a rath — the BJP’s favourite election vehicle — to campaign for the party in the same assembly seat. He will hold another ‘rath sabha’, a little after 2 in the afternoon at Kansabel, which falls under the Pathalgaon assembly constituency.
Later he has two mega rallies lined up at 3 pm and 4 pm in the Kunkuria and the Chandrapur assembly seats, respectively. He will end the day with a massive roadshow at 5 in the evening in the Raigarh area where he is scheduled to move along with thousands of supporters from Kabir Chowk to Kotra amid frenzied chants and scores of party flags — a signature BJP style.
Party sources say Amit Shah — who is also the union home minister — is expected to raise the issue of the Mahadev app row on Thursday in a very strong manner. Recently, PM Modi also raked up the subject passingly while focussing on the larger issue of alleged corruption. “In Chhattisgarh, there is betting and in Rajasthan, there is a ‘red diary’ of misdeeds of Congress…Congress means ‘barbaadi ki guarantee’…Congress got power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, but their CMs were involved in ‘satta’ (betting) and generating black money,” he said recently.
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