CHANDIGARH: Sounding the poll bugle in Punjab for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on January 29 hold a rally in Patiala, the bastion of former Punjab chief minister and now BJP leader Capt Amarinder Singh.
The event is a part of the Lok Sabha Prawas programme chalked out by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for reaching out of the public for the upcoming general elections. Confirming that Shah is coming, a senior BJP leader said that he is coming to Punjab to begin preparations for Lok Sabha campaign in the state.
The state unit of the party has already started preparations for the Lok Sabha elections and that such rallies will be held in every parliamentary constituency. “We have yet to get his schedule, as he might also hold a meeting of the party leaders of the state unit anytime after or before the rally,” he said.
It is learnt that Shah might go and pay obeisance at Dukh Niwaran Sahib Gurdwara and at Mata Kalai Devi temple in Patiala. Shah will also hold a rally at Gohana, Sonipat, in Haryana the same day. The rally in Patiala aims to boost support for Amarinder and his family.
Amarinder’s wife Preneet Kaur, who is the sitting Congress Member of Parliament from the constituency, is also expected to join the BJP in the rally. Also, their daughter, Jai Inder Kaur, has become politically active and is now handling the Lok Sabha constituency, and also the Patiala (Urban) Assembly seat which her father lost in the recent Assembly polls.
Jai Inder is eyeing her mother’s seat as the 77-year-old Congress leader may not contest the Lok Sabha polls this time. Sources close to Amarinder said Shah will also hold a meeting with the state BJP leadership in Patiala. In Gohana, Shah would address the rally for the Sonepat parliamentary segment, a BJP leader said.
This would be followed by three state-level party events to be held on February 3 to observe Sant Ravidas Jayanti, at Gurug r am, Na rwana and Yamunanagar. Haryana BJP president Om Parkash Dhankar has named Sonipat MP Ramesh Kaushik and MLA Mohan Lal Sharma as coordinators for the rally. Under the Lok Sabha Prawas initiative, the home minister will be visiting 11 states, holding one rally in each state.