30 rallies, 10 days: BJP readies Modi blitz for Maha, Haryana polls

NEW DELHI: After spearheading a highly successful campaign during the general elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be back on the poll trail, this time in Maharashtra and Haryana.

He will be the face of the BJP’s campaign for assembly elections in the two states, addressing around 30 rallies over the next fortnight — polling is on October 15 — and will have a new slogan, ‘Chalo chalein Modi ke saath’.

The move speaks volumes of the PM’s continued popularity, and also of the BJP’s overwhelming dependence on him and the absence of strong local faces.

Modi kicks off his campaign on Saturday with rallies in Karnal, Kolhapur, Beed and Mumbai, BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Wednesday.

He will campaign every day till October 13.

Eight to 10 rallies have been planned in Haryana, Naqvi told HT. The BJP’s Maharashtra in-charge, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, had on Tuesday said the PM would address 22-24 rallies in the state.

The decision to push Modi to the front is a break from the past when the BJP has usually projected CM candidates. This is largely due to the absence of strong local leaders with a mass base. Gopinath Munde’s death in June left a void for the party in Maharashtra while the absence of any alliance in Haryana means the BJP will have to decide on a name depending on its numbers and post-poll scenario.

In contrast, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi is addressing seven rallies (three in Haryana, four in Maharashtra) and vice-president Rahul Gandhi 13 (four and nine, respectively).