BHOPAL: BJP national president Amit Shah sounded the poll bugle on Tuesday in Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s bastion Gwalior-Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh.
Accompanied by senior leaders, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar and MP ministers Yashodhara Raje Scindia, Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya and Narottam Mishra, Shah addressed a meeting of party workers in Shivpuri district, before embarking on a road-show in Guna district.
Shah also addressed a meeting of party workers in Gwalior town. While Gwalior is the hometown of Jyotiraditya Scindia, both Shivpuri and Guna districts form part of his parliamentary seat Guna, which he has been winning since 2002.
Importantly, Shivpuri and Guna district house Kolaras and Mungaoli that are among the four assembly seats, where the BJP lost to the Congress in the by-elections since April 2017. Out of the 34 seats at stake in eight districts of Gwalior-Chambal region, the BJP has 20 seats, followed by the Congress 12 and the BSP 2.
Shah invokes Rajmata
At Shivpuri district, Shah invoked one of the founder leaders of the BJP, late Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, to appeal the party rank and file to work for electoral triumphs in 2018 and 2019. “The celebrations to mark Rajmata’s birth centenary begins from October 12. Many statues will be unveiled and several other projects will be named after her, but the real tributes will be to ensure memorable victory in MP during the assembly and general elections,” Shah said.
Incidentally, Rajmata’s daughter and Jyotiraditya’s aunt Yashodhara Raje had recently left a BJP meeting at Bhopal in a huff over Rajmata’s picture missing from the stage.
Shah launched a scathing attack on Congress national president Rahul Gandhi, dubbing him as ‘Sheikh Chilli’ (a character popular among children notorious for his follies and simplicity). “He (Rahul) keeps on speaking about forming governments in the poll-bound states, but I advise him to stop day dreaming like Sheikh Chilli," said Shah.
The BJP chief also asked his Congress counterpart to make his stand clear on the NRC issue and the illegal immigrants in the country.