AHMEDABAD: Heavy rainfall in Gujarat has forced the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to put the brakes on its ‘Vande Gujarat Vikas Yatra’. The campaign, which started on July 5, was earlier scheduled to be held until July 19 to disseminate information regarding the development works done in Gujarat under the BJP rule in the last two decades.
However, videos of roads being blocked due to rains, and the BJP’s ‘chariots’ getting stuck at some places have gone viral. The party is now planning a change in its plans, and is gearing up to launch a ‘double engine’ campaign in the run-up to the Assembly elections. The videos of BJP’s trucks passing through pothole-riddled roads were posted by Aam Aadmi Party as well as Congress leader Jignesh Mevani. The vehicles had to be covered with plastic sheets at the collectorate, and parked at covered places.
A government official associated with the yatra said on condition of anonymity that the campaign may be rescheduled if the rains stop shortly. Meanwhile, the BJP government is planning to start a double engine campaign, for which the Gandhinagar secretariat has solicited data from the heads of various government departments, board corporations and agencies. Information about the ongoing schemes and projects in the state as well as data about expenditure and grants has been sought, which will be used along with statistics from the Central government schemes, to launch the new campaign from a virtual platform.
The ‘Vikas Yatra’, though launched with much fanfare, with 82 ‘chariots’, including 25 trucks with LED screens, prepared at a cost of about `8 crore, was failing to attract crowds in rural areas. Rainfall also dampened the spirits of the local BJP workers and office-bearers, who chose to keep themselves away from the campaign. Through the campaign, the BJP government had planned to cover all the 33 districts, eight municipal corporations, and all the villages and wards of the state. It had also planned to organise over 2,500 events across Gujarat.
Hitting a rough patch
Videos of roads being blocked due to rains, and the BJP’s ‘chariots’ getting stuck at some places have gone viral. The party is now planning a change in its plans, and is gearing up to launch a ‘double engine’ campaign in the run-up to the Assembly elections