JAIPUR: The BJP has stepped up its efforts in southern Rajasthan to woo voters, a year ahead of the state Assembly polls. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was in Udaipur on Tuesday to unveil the statue of Panna Dhai, associated with the Maharana of Mewar and the founder of the city Udai Singh-II. His visit comes ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah’s trip to Jodhpur for the party’s national executive meeting of the OBC Morcha in September.
Jodhpur is the home town of CM Ashok Gehlot who comes from the OBC category. The BJP aims to weaken his OBC support base in his home town. Gehlot is spending four days in Jodhpur in an attempt to consolidate the base in his bastion. The BJP has prepared an action plan to cater to the OBC voters in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections in 2024. It will start from Jodhpur where Home Minister Amit Shah will address the party’s national working committee meeting on OBC Morcha on September 10.
OBC MLAs can influence voters in at least 50 seats in the Jodhpur division. Of the 15 MLAs from the region, 11 are from Congress and the rest from BJP. The big reason for holding the OBC meet in Jodhpur is to lure the OBC vote bank in the BJP.
Besides OBC Morcha’s national president and parliamentary board member K. Laxman, all state chiefs of the party’s OBC Morcha across the country will come to Rajasthan to join the National Working Committee.