In preparations for the upcoming assembly elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced the schedule of its Jan Ashirvad Yatras. They will be taken out from five different places. Union Home Minister Amit Shah would commence the yatra from Chitrakoot on Sept 3. The other four yatras from different regions would also be started by different Union Ministers. The Ashirvad yatras in 2018 were taken out in the sole leadership of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. But this time, he would be attending these yatras in between.
State BJP election management panel convener Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar parried of the queries regarding the face of the party in the upcoming elections. He claimed that his party believes in collective leadership and Parliamentary Board would decide the Chief Ministerial face. He informed that the Chief Minister would participate in the yatra for at least half the duration. To a query, Tomar stated that Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is a senior leader of the party and his presence has strengthened the party. He would also participate in the yatras, he added.
Tomar said the party would raise awareness about the development work undertaken in Madhya Pradesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chouhan. "The party is going to retain power and the state will contribute to India's journey to becoming a developed nation by 2047."
Tomar said the yatra has been decentralised as a new experiment to cover the maximum distance in 18 days. He said the previous such yatras would span 90 to 92 days. "The yatra will cover 210 assembly constituencies and 10,641 kilometres."
Shah will flag off the first part of the yatra at Chitrakoot on September 3. The yatra will culminate with a gathering in Bhopal. One million BJP workers are expected to attend the gathering.
State BJP chief VD Sharma said the party has urged Modi to address the gathering. He added the other parts of the yatra will begin from four regions in Mandla (Mahakoshal), Khandwa (Nimad), Ujjain (Malwa), and Sheopur (Gwalior-Chambal) region over the next five days.
Sharma said the party has also requested defence minister Rajnath Singh and BJP chief JP Nadda to flag off the yatra from separate places.
Notably, the BJP has since 2003 been in power in the state, barring 18 months between 2018 and 2020. Union home minister Amit Shah has repeatedly visited Madhya Pradesh as part of attempts to blunt anti-incumbency and infighting. Chouhan last week expanded his Cabinet and inducted three ministers for similar reasons.
Polls in Madhya Pradesh and four other states, which account for roughly 15% of India's population, are expected to set the tone for the 2024 national elections. The Congress hopes to return to power in Madhya Pradesh. It was voted to power in 2018 but lost it in March 2020 when 22 legislators quit the party and resigned from the state assembly.