BJP's Gaurav Yatra across poll-bound Gujarat begins today
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to take out five Gaurav Yatras across Gujarat for poll campaigning starting from Wednesday as elections are slated in the state later this year. The rallies led by top leaders from the state and the Centre would cover 144 out of 182 constituencies. The routes chalked out for the rallies focus on tribal states.
Why does this story matter?
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been rigorously campaigning in Gujarat while Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his rallies across the poll-bound state is claiming that the Congress and AAP were collaborating to attack the BJP. The first Gaurav Yatra was taken out after the Gujarat riots and before the Assembly elections in 2002 while the second was held ahead of polls in 2017.
5 rallies, 10 days, 5,734 kms
The rally will be held for around 10 days spanning 5,734 kilometers which would witness 145 public meetings. BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, BJP state unit president CR Patil, and other state leaders will take part in the rally. After the first yatra in 2002, the BJP won 127 out of 182 seats.
Nadda launched the rally from Mahesana
Two rallies to be launched today
Nadda launched the first two of the five rallies on Wednesday from Bechraji in Mehsana district to Mata no Madh in Kutch district and from Dwarka to Porbandar. The third route is from Zanzaraka in Ahmedabad district to Somnath in Gir-Somnath district; while the rest two rallies will start from Unai in Navsari district and head to Fagvel in Kheda district and Ambaji.
Gaurav Yatra to establish pride of India: Nadda
Need tribal votes to beat Congress record: BJP leader
Indian Express quoted a senior BJP leader saying that the party wanted to break the record of the maximum number of seats won in the state which is currently held by the Congress at 149. Winning on tribal seats is crucial for this as the Congress has a grasp among them, he said. In 2017, the BJP secured 99 seats, its lowest.
BJP won only 9 out of 27 ST-reserved seats
The Congress recently appointed tribal leader Sukhram Rathva as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Gujarat Assembly by replacing Paresh Dhanani from the Patidar community. In the 2017 polls, the BJP managed to win only nine out of 27 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) won two seats while the rest was bagged by Congress.
