Raipur: Union home minister Amit Shah is set to launch the “Parivartan Yatra”, the mass outreach campaign by BJP, from the tribal district of Dantewada under Bastar in Chhattisgarh on September 12, ahead of the year-end assembly polls.
Mr Shah is scheduled to pay obeisance to Maa Danteshwari in the district headquarters of Dantewada on the day before flagging off the ‘Parivartan Yatra’, BJP spokesman Sanjay Srivastav said on Saturday.
The yatra is scheduled to cover a distance of 1728 km over 16 days.
The second ‘Parivartan Yatra’ is scheduled to be launched in Jashpur in north Chhattisgarh by BJP national president J P Nadda on September 16, he said.
Mr Nadda is scheduled to perform ‘puja’ in Maa Khudia Rani temple in district headquarters of Jashpur before flagging off the yatra.
The second yatra is scheduled to cover a distance of 1261 km over 12 days.
The two yatras would cover 87 of 90 assembly constituencies in the state before converging at Bilaspur on September 28, according to Mr Srivastav.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address a rally of BJP workers on the occasion.
Three Naxal-infested assembly constituencies of Bijapur, Sukma and Antagarh under Bastar division have been left out of the yatra ‘for now’ for security reasons, Mr Srivastav said.
BJP has moved the state government to ensure adequate security arrangements during the two yatras.
A ‘Parivartan Yatra’ of Congress was attacked by Naxals at Jheeram Ghati in Bastar on May 25, 2013, leading to the killing of 28 Congress leaders and four security personnel.
The slain Congress leaders included Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and former minister Mahendra Karma, the tribal leader popularly known as ‘Bastar Tiger’ in the state.
Former Union minister Vidya Charan Shukla who was injured in the Naxal attack, died in the hospital later.
