The BJP is counting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma to capture power in Haryana and Maharashtra, which will go to polls on October 15. Modi will launch a whirlwind 10-day campaign on October 4 and will address 34 rallies in the two States.
Party’s senior leaders lK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, besides BJP chief Amit Shah and Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and M Venkaiah Naidu, will campaign for the party candidates in both the States where the party is seeking to form its Governments on its own.
The Prime Minster will spend the first part of day in Haryana and later fly to different destinations in Maharashtra. He is expected to address 24 rallies in Maharashtra and 10 in Haryana.“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the party’s poll campaign for Haryana and Maharashtra by addressing poll rallies from October 4 to 13. He will address a rally in Karnal in Haryana on the first day of his campaign and will also address three poll rallies in Kolhapur, Beed and Mumbai in Maharashtra,” BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
Unlike Haryana, availability of airstrips in Maharashtra would provide flexibility to Modi’s election programme and facilitate his rallies late in the day. Reacting to Modi’s whirlwind tour programme, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said the Prime Minister would not have been invited to address the public if the BJP was confident of winning on “Modi wave.”
“There are so many statements coming from them (the BJP) that speak about Modi’s plans to hold several rallies for the upcoming Assembly polls. I have nothing against Modi. But it is very clear that if there was indeed a ‘Modi wave’ in the State, they would not have asked him (Modi) to hold so many rallies. It is the first time that a PM will hold so many rallies before Assembly polls,” Uddhav said.
Former BJP president Nitin Gadkari will campaign in Maharashtra only. BJP Chief Ministers Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (MP) and Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh) will campaign in both the poll-bound States. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been tasked to campaign for eight days, and Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Ben Patel will spend three days in Maharashtra.
Campaign schedule for veterans lK Advani and MM Joshi (both members of “Margdarshak Mandal”) is being worked out, said Naqvi.
“Our target is to get rid of the misrule of the Congress in both the States and to establish a golden era of BJP’s good governance. Our main agenda is good governance and development,” Naqvi said and skirted query on targeting the Shiv Sena. “Ismein tu tu main main ki gunjayish nahin hain… We are focused on rooting out 15-year misrule of the NCP-Congress Government,” he said.
Country’s financial capital Mumbai is now facing “economic crisis” due to corruption and bad governance of the Congress-NCP dispensation, said the BJP leader.
Asked about the-jailed INlD leader Om Prakash Chautala, now on bail, “campaigning” in Haryana, the BJP leader said, “It is worrying. We will speak to the Election Commission.”
The BJP is contesting all 90 seats in Haryana and 255 out of 288 seats in Maharashtra, allocating 31 seats to its allies which were earlier part of “Maha yukti”