NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will begin his fresh round of campaigning in poll-bound Gujarat on Sunday.
During his two-day visit, he will address at least seven rallies. The Prime Minister is expected to hold at least 31 rallies and meetings in the wake of upcoming Assembly elections.
Mr Modi is expected to stress on the ruling BJP’s development plank in public meetings ‘Vikas Rallies’. He will be visiting the capital of Saurashtra, Rajkot, before going to Ahmedabad where he will inaugurate a hospital at the Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratisthanam (SGVP).
The BJP wants to make this meeting a grand event and is planning a huge rally.
On Monday, the Prime Minister will be holding public meetings at Dharampur in Valsad district and later at Bhavnagar. From there, he will visit other Saurashtra places, Junagadh and Jamnagar.
He will also be visiting the state in three phases after December 6 where he will be addressing more than 24 meetings and rallies. The BJP has been in power in the state since more than 22 years with the major share of that under the tenure of Mr Modi as Chief Minister.
But after having ruled for more than two decades, the saffron party is feeling a strong wave of opposition in the form of various agitations from different sections of society.
A majority of these forces have joined hands with the opposition Congress party and more than two-decades reign seems to be on the downslide.
That’s the reason why Mr Modi, despite his very busy schedule, has made Gujarat virtually his home since the last couple of months.
Lately, the saffron party has felt that the young Patidar leader Hardik Patel has been gathering more people in his rallies and that even their star campaigner Mr Modi is not garnering the crowds he used to do in the state.
The BJP is taking the Rajkot rally as a prestige issue and wants to make it a huge success. It can also be because the Saurashtra region has been opposing the BJP more than any other region of Gujarat and from where the Patidar agitations have had immense support and success. (AGENCIES)