BHOPAL: The ruling BJP will take out five Jan Ashirvad Yatras across assembly poll-bound Madhya Pradesh from September 3 to tell the voters the government’s achievements and expose the “scams” of previous Congress governments in the state.
The yatra has been a seminal part of BJP’s warming-up exercise for assembly poll battles in MP since 2008. But months before every assembly poll (2008, 2013, 2018), the yatra in the past has been led by the chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan – who is BJP’s longest-serving CM anywhere in the country.
In a departure from the past, the BJP announced on Monday, not just one, but five yatras from separate parts of the state, between September 3 and September 6. Instead of the MP CM leading one single yatra across the state, this time, all prominent BJP leaders in the state, including Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia and others, besides other senior leaders, including national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and state party chief VD Sharma will be part of the yatras.
“The BJP believes in collective leadership and is above individualism. All prominent leaders, including our present CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be part of the yatras. He (CM) will be in the yatra for half a day daily. We’re aiming to cover 210 out of the 230 assembly seats covering 10,640-plus km. We’ll be covering a distance of 92 days in just 18 days,” said Union minister and BJP’s MP Assembly Election Committee convener Narendra Singh Tomar.
The five yatras will be started by three prominent national BJP leaders. While Union home minister Amit Shah will start the Yatras from Hindu pilgrim town Chitrakoot in Vindhya region and Mandla district of Mahakoshal region starting on September 3 and September 5 respectively, defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely to launch the yatras from Khandwa and Neemuch districts respectively in Malwa-Nimar region on September 4, while the fifth Yatra will be started from Sheopur in Gwalior-Chambal region by party’s national president JP Nadda on September 6.
‘Yet to decide on CM face’
On Monday, BJP’s MP Election Management Committee convener and union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was bombarded by journalists with questions about who will be CM’s face in coming polls, Shivraj Singh Chouhan or anyone else. Tomar said, “Some issues have to be decided by me, some by the party chief, while it’s the parliamentary board which takes a call. But until then, it won’t be appropriate for me to reply.”