BJP national president JP Nadda will be in Rajasthan on Wednesday to hold talks with the party's key office bearers and leaders of the Kota and Ajmer divisions. His visit comes as the Congress launched an election campaign alleging the Centre's apathy towards the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP).
The Congress has turned ERCP into a major poll plank in the eastern region, comprising Kota, and aims to bag a good number of the 83 assembly seats in the region riding on the issue.
BJP's Kota district president Krishan Kumar Soni told reporters that Nadda will reach Kota airport at 11 am on Wednesday. "He will hold meetings with the party's key office bearers and leaders of Kota division in two slots," Soni added.
During the first slot from 11 am to 1 pm, Nadda will hold meetings with party office bearers and leaders of Kota -Bundi Lok Sabha constituency and in the second slot, the BJP chief will meet office bearers of the Jhalawar-Baran Lok Sabha constituency.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had launched a public awareness campaign on the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project on Monday. The party has even coined the slogan 'Kiya Dil Se, Congress Fir Se' for the campaign.
ERCP was launched when Vasundhara Raje was the chief minister of the state. It aims to augment irrigation facilities in an area of around 2 lakh hectares and will address drinking water problems in 13 districts of eastern Rajasthan, including Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Ajmer, Dausa, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur and the Dholpur districts.
Under the project, water in rivers like Chambal and its tributaries such as Kunnu, Parvati Kalisindh and others will be harvested.
All four districts in the Kota division, namely Kota, Bundi, Baran and Jhalawar, are among 13 districts covered under the ERCP for which the Congress party has been demanding national project status.
The Congress, hoping to maintain its lead in eastern Rajasthan, is determined to use the ERCP as a major poll plan and has been organising door-to-door rallies in the region to highlight the issue. Congress leader and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday raked up the ERCP, alleging that the project was not accorded a central status as the leadership was unhappy with Raje.
While addressing an awareness rally on ERCP, Gehlot said: "You are angry with Vasundhara Raje but why are you cheating the public?"
Gehlot had earlier declared a yatra against the betrayal of the Centre over the ERCP, which will also see Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressing a rally in Sikrai. "Sixteen projects of national importance are running in the country. There can also be a 17th. Had the project been completed at a fast pace, the water crisis (in the region) could have been reduced. But they (Centre) created hurdles for five years," he alleged.
Kota is also important for BJP with 10 of 17 sitting MLAs and both MPs affiliated with the BJP. Besides the ERCP, the sway Vasundhara Raje holds over the Kota region is also a headache for the party, considering the central leadership is not very enthusiastic about her of late.
Raje's Assembly constituency Jhalrapatan (Jhalawar) is in the Kota division while her son Dushyant Singh is the Lok Sabha MP from Jhalawar-Baran.
The first list released by the BJP had sidelined Raje and her leaders on 41 seats. The party has so far not given any clarity about the role of Raje, who is seen as among the frontrunners for the party's CM post. However, the party has made it clear that the election will be contested on the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party symbol 'Lotus'.