The frequency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to poll-bound Rajasthan will increase in the months leading to the year-end Assembly elections, or so claim the sources. Between August and the end of September, when the state elections are slated, Mr Modi will likely visit Rajasthan six to seven times and inaugurate several development projects during his visits.
Since November last year, the Prime Minister has already made seven visits to Rajasthan. According to sources, in August alone, Mr Modi will likely visit the desert state three or four times.
"As per initial plans, the Prime Minister is likely to visit Rajasthan six to seven times in two months. During his visits, the Prime Minister will dedicate several projects related to infrastructure and various welfare schemes completed by the Union government in the state," sources said.
As the BJP has not taken any decision on whether it will project a chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections or not, it is learnt that the party will bank on Mr Modi’s popularity to dislodge the Ashok Gehlot government.
"As the party central leadership has not disclosed its plan about the party's CM face, we believe that the Assembly polls will be contested under collective leadership and under the leadership of the Prime Minister," a Rajasthan BJP leader said.
Another party leader asserted that the multiple visits by Mr Modi will set the momentum rolling in the BJP's favour before the intense election campaign begins.
While the BJP is undecided about whether it will project a chief ministerial candidate or not, the names of several leaders are doing the rounds for the position. Former chief minister Vasundhara Raje is among the frontrunners. Others in the fray are Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Ashwini Vaishnaw, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and former state BJP president Satish Poonia.
In the last Rajasthan Assembly polls in 2018, the BJP lost power to the Congress. The saffron party leadership believes that there is strong anti-incumbency against the Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan. The BJP has actively started cornering the Gehlot government on local issues, including corruption, law and order, atrocities against women, and other issues to highlight five years of misrule.
