Even as the Election Commission is all set to announce the dates for Gujarat assembly elections in a few days, the ruling BJP, on Wednesday, stepped up its poll campaign with 'Gaurav Yatra'. The party intends to highlight the developments that have taken place in the state over the years, and the works being carried out by Narendra Modi as prime minister and earlier as the chief minister of the state.
Holding on to power in Gujarat, which is the model state of the party, is not only a prestige issue for the BJP but also a necessity if the party has to perform well in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On Tuesday, the BJP launched LED trucks that will showcase the developmental works carried out in the state. The trucks will go around all 182 constituencies.
The 'Gaurav Yatra' is expected to cover 144 constituencies in more than a week. The yatra has been strategically divided into five routes to reach out to different sections of the electorate and a majority of the regions in the state.
This is not the first time that the BJP is organising Gaurav Yatra. It was first taken out by Modi in 2002 after the Godhra riots. A similar yatra was taken out in 2017 as well.
Top BJP leaders and ministers are part of the yatra. On Wednesday, BJP national president J.P. Nadda flagged off the yatras from Bechraji in North Gujarat and Dwarka in the Saurashtra region. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off yatras from three places on Thursday.
Flagging off the yatra from Bechraji, Nadda said this is not only Gujarat’s 'Gaurav Yatra' but a yatra to establish India’s pride. He described Gujarat as Gangotri of developmental works that are being carried out in the country.
The state, he said, has given many saints, reformers, and leaders. Remembering the names of M.K. Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nadda said the state also has produced PM Modi who is working relentlessly to put India on the world's map. He said in Modi one has seen how a state and the country can be transformed.
Crediting everything to Modi, Nadda said people still wear masks in America or other countries, but in India, nobody does it anymore, and this has become possible because people have got two doses of vaccine and a booster shot.
Medicines and vaccines for tuberculosis and polio took years to come to India, but Modi made two vaccines in nine months, he said.
He blamed the Congress for creating hurdles in the path of development and said now the grand old party is facing hurdles.
In Dwarka, he said Modiji converted the system of “commission” into a mission, and claimed that the PM has given a jolt to dynastic politics. “There is no national party. Congress has just remained a party of brother and sister.”
Nadda claimed that it is only the BJP that is based on ideals and went on to allege that the majority of the states have family members in governance or opposition.
Gujarat will face a three-cornered fight between the BJP, the Congress and the Aaam Aadmi Party.