Rajasthan elections: BJP to kick start four 'Parivartan Yatras' next month

Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat expected to participate along with other senior members

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will send its senior members to poll-bound Rajasthan next month to kick start four "Parivartan Yatras" ahead of the Rajasthan state assembly elections. Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh are also expected to join the yatra to step up their electoral preparedness, according to a report by ANI.

Each yatra will span over 23 days, the report added. They are scheduled to begin on September 2, 3, 4 and 5. This will culminate in a large public address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur on September 25.

Home minister Amit Shah will begin the first "Parivartan Yatra '' from Trinetra Ganesh Temple in Sawar Madhopar.

The second will be flagged off by the party's national president, J P Nadda from Vaneshwar Dham.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will commence the third yatra from Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, while the fourth is scheduled to begin from Gogamedi, Hanumangarh and will be flagged off by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Other members of the party, including Union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, party state president CP Joshi, deputy leader of the Opposition, Sateyndra Poonia, and former BJP Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje are also expected to participate.

Rajasthan state assembly elections are slated for the end of this year. In 2018, the Congress party won 99 seats, while BJP won 73 seats of the 200-member house. CM Ashok Gehlot formed the state government with the support of BSP and Independents.

BSP supremo Mayawati announced that BSP plans to contest independent election campaigns in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, with a focus on issues of unemployment, women's safety, farmers and the underprivileged.