Shimla: Less than four months after addressing a huge gathering at the historic Ridge in Shimla, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be coming to Himachal Pradesh again on September 24 to sound a poll bugle.
This time he is coming to Mandi, the home district of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, to launch the BJP’s campaign for elections slated by the end of this year for the 68-member assembly.
The Prime Minister will be addressing ‘Maha Garjana Rally’ of around one lakh youth, all below 40 years of age, at Paddal ground in Mandi, state party chief Suresh Kumar Kashyap told the media here on Thursday.
After Mandi, Modi will be addressing public meetings in Bilaspur and Chamba town at later dates. BJP leaders Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda will also visit the state separately.
For Modi’s September 24 rally, the youth belonging to 7,881 booths spread over 68 assembly constituencies would be invited to participate.
“All the participants below the age of 40 will be given admit cards for the Modi’s rally. No other party worker will be allowed to attend the rally physically,” said the BJP chief.
Kashyap said the entire BJP cadre has started preparations for the Modi’s rally. “Every BJP worker will work diligently to make the rally a success.”
Union minister Smriti Irani will address a public meeting in Sundernagar on September 17, while Union law minister Kiren Rijiju will address an advocates’ programme in Shimla.
Kashyap said Prime Minister Modi shared a special bond with Himachal and he has always given priority to the development for the state.
“Prime Minister Modi’s attachment to Himachal can be gauged from the fact that Modi-ji has visited Himachal as PM most of the times.”
Preparations are underway with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur along with other BJP leaders making all-out efforts to make the visit a memorable event just ahead of announcement of the assembly elections.
Previously, Modi visited Mandi, also known as ‘Chhoti Kashi’, on December 27, 2021, and inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of hydropower projects worth Rs 11,000 crore. The event marked the completion of the four years of the BJP government.
On May 31, Modi reached Himachal Pradesh capital to address beneficiaries of the Central government’s schemes to mark the eighth anniversary of his government from the historic Ridge — once the promenade for the British colonial rulers when this town was their summer capital. Later, he addressed a public meeting.
Despite the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) striving hard to make inroads ahead of the polls, the political scenario in Himachal Pradesh seems so far largely bipolar — a tug-of-war between the two conventional archrivals — the Congress and the saffron party.
Himachal Pradesh was traditionally dominated by the Congress and saw its first non-Congress chief minister, Shanta Kumar, in 1977, when the Janata Party came to power.
The Congress appointed its three-time MP Pratibha Singh, the widow of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh, as the state unit president in April.
Unlike her husband who had a direct connect even at the grassroots, Pratibha Singh has spearheaded the poll campaign in a bid to oust the incumbent Jai Ram Thakur-led government.
The Congress is banking on its promise to bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) that will benefit 2,25,000 employees, a crucial vote bank.
The Congress is banking mainly on an anti-incumbency wave against the ruling dispensation. It won three Assembly and one parliamentary seat in the October 2021 by-polls.
Chief Minister Thakur believes good governance with zero corruption, which is essential for economic growth, and no witch hunting are the mantras for his success. Unprecedented development will remain the party’s main poll plank for this year’s Assembly polls.
The BJP had won a majority in the 2017 Assembly polls with 44 seats in the 68-member Assembly.
–IANS
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