The Economic Times | BJP steps up campaign in poll-bound Gujarat

Sep 20,2022

BJP president JP Nadda is scheduled to visit Gujarat and attend a slew of events on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the ruling party steps up its campaign in the election-bound state. Nadda is expected to reach Ahmedabad on Monday night and attend events in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Morbi and Gandhinagar over the next two days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have been repeatedly visiting their home state for months.

Meanwhile, BJP is also organising a two-day national mayors' conference at Gandhinagar from Tuesday where 121 BJP mayors from 18 states are scheduled to participate. The conference will be inaugurated by the PM and attended by Nadda, Union urban development minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Nadda will address a meeting of the elected representatives at Rajkot, apart from holding a roadshow in Morbi on Tuesday. He will also hold a meeting with party workers at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar and address a professors' summit in Ahmedabad on Wednesday before leaving for Delhi.

The programmes assume importance as BJP is facing aggressive campaigning against it across urban centres by the Aam Aadmi Party, besides battling anti-incumbency after 27 years of rule. Deteriorating road conditions have not helped and the party recently removed the road and building minister Purnesh Modi.

The mayors' conference is aimed at reinvigorating the "Gujarat model of urban development" and injecting a sense of primacy across the traditional urban voter base of the saffron party, said observers.

BJP national secretary Rituraj Sinha said that out of 121 mayors from 18 states who would be attending the event, 48 are women. Sinha also told the media that apart from the PM, Union urban development minister and other senior party leaders, the mayors will share their experiences during the event and will visit Sabarmati Riverfront, one of the major urban achievements of Gujarat.

Responding to a question on urban water logging, Ranchi mayor and BJP national secretary Asha Lakda said a session will be dedicated to discuss the issue. Simultaneously, on Tuesday, Gujarat BJP Kisan Morcha will launch e-bikes which will travel across 182 assembly constituencies to campaign among the farmers of the state.