 "Amit Shah")
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' on September 3 from Chitrakoot in Satna, Madhya Pradesh, where elections will be held at the end of the year.
Making the announcement in a press conference, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and state unit chief V D Sharma said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to address a workers' meeting to mark the culmination of the yatra in Bhopal on September 25, the birth anniversary of stalwart Deendayal Upadhyaya.
पत्रकार वार्ता...#BJP4MP @BJP4MP
— Narendra Singh Tomar (@nstomar) August 28, 2023
https://t.co/JXwfrbzoHq
Tomar said that Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the state's longest-serving chief minister, will also take part in the yatra for a few hours each day.
More From This Section
BJP to take out five Jan Ashirwad Yatra
The Jan Ashirwad Yatra will be organised from various locations across the state.
"Five committees have been formed for five yatras. Its state convenor is MP Minister Bhupendra Singh. These yatras will cover more than 10,500 kilometres in 210 of the state's 230 Assembly seats and public meetings will take place en route," Sharma said.
"Though the yatra will reach Bhopal on September 21, the formal culmination will take place on September 25 to coincide with the Karyakarta Mahakumbh. PM Modi has been invited to address the workers at the Karyakarta Mahakumbh," he stated.
When asked about Shivraj Singh Chouhan's announcement of 'rakhi gifts' for 'sisters' of Madhya Pradesh, Tomar said the BJP stood for the welfare of the poor, Dalits, and women.
While the Congress has promised to provide Rs 1,500 monthly aid to women, a cooking gas cylinder for Rs 500, and free power for up to 100 units, Chouhan has stated that women will get Rs 1,250 as financial aid under the Ladli Behna Yojana beginning in October, and a cooking gas cylinder for Rs 450 in August.
Asked about the BJP's poll slogans this time, which talk about 150 seats instead of the more ambitious 'abki baar 200 paar' in the run-up to the 2018 state elections, Tomar said he was confident his party will win with a large majority.
Polls in Madhya Pradesh and four other states (Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Telangana), which account for roughly 15 per cent of India's population, are expected to set the tone for the 2024 national elections.
In the 2018 election, the Congress emerged as the single-largest party. With the backing of the Samajwadi Party's one MLA, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)'s two MLAs, and the four independent MLAs, the Congress secured 114 seats and formed the government, with Kamal Nath becoming the chief minister.
However, in 2020, 22 Congress MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia left the party and joined the BJP. Shivraj Singh Chouhan of the BJP took office as the chief minister again on March 23, 2020.
