After the defeat of his party in the assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to kick off an aggressive election campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh from Rae Bareli, the parliamentary constituency of United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on Sunday.
This will be his first visit to the traditional seat of the Gandhi family.
Modi will also visit Prayagraj to review preparations for the Kumbh Mela to be held in the Sangam city next year.
Though the Prime Minister is visiting Rae Bareli to flag off the 900th coach built at Modern Rail Coach Factory in Lalganj in the district, senior leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party monitoring the preparations on the ground said Modi’s “official trip” to Rae Bareli will give a clear message to party workers to get ready for an intense electoral campaign during the Lok Sabha polls.
Having faced an aggressive and resurgent Congress in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP leadership realises that the ‘Road to 2019’ is not easy. The party will also be faced with a formidable challenge in Uttar Pradesh, as Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party look all set for an electoral alliance. In this backdrop, the BJP’s top leadership, especially party president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would do their best to keep the party cadre in high spirit, and the Rae Bareli visit fits right into that narrative. It will give the message that the party is neither on the defensive nor lacking in aggression.
BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan said, “No constituency or area is anyone’s fiefdom. Rae Bareli and Amethi have lacked on development for decades and the Prime Minister’s visit to the town is in tune with our promise to bring development back in this region.”
After Rae Bareli, the Prime Minister will visit Prayagraj on the same day to review the preparations for Kumbh and will address a public meeting in Jhusi.
Later in the month, Modi will visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi on December 29 and address a rally of Rajbhar community in eastern UP town of Ghazipur the same day.
While in Rae Bareli, Modi will inaugurate and lay foundation stones of projects worth Rs 1,100 crore. They include inauguration of a four-lane Rae Bareli-Banda highway.
In Prayagraj, the Prime Minister will inaugurate projects worth around Rs 3,000 crores in the city and at the Kumbh Mela area.
UP’s Civil Aviation and Registration Minister and minister in-charge of Rae Bareli, Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’ said here on Saturday that during his brief visit, the Prime Minister will address a public meeting in Rae Bareli after flagging off the 900th newly-built coach at the Modern Rail Coach Factory.
He said over three lakh people would attend the Prime Minister’s rally, to be held on the Rail Coach Factory premises in Rae Bareli for which preparation had been completed.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who will accompany the Prime Minister in Rae Bareli and Prayagraj, had visited Rae Bareli on Thursday to oversee preparations for the Prime Minister’s visit. He also took a tour of the Rail Coach Factory in Lalganj
Meanwhile, in view of the Prime Minister’s visit to this Congress stronghold on Sunday, heavy security arrangements have been put in place.
Sources said that security officials, including 16 SP’s, 25 ASPs, 50 DySPs will be deployed as part of the elaborate security arrangements. Apart from this, 12 companies of PAC and six fire-tenders will also be deployed there to deal with any untoward incident.
Snipers will also be present in high-rise buildings, whereas drones and CCTV cameras will be used for surveillance and control of crowds.