Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah to campaign in Rajasthan this week

The number of visits from political bigwigs, both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, has gone up as election season nears in the state. After his day-long visit to Jaipur on September 11, BJP president Amit Shah is all set to address party workers in five districts of Rajasthan during his three-day tour from September 16.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also visit the state on September 20.

After giving a pep talk to party leaders, office bearers and workers in Jaipur division on Tuesday, Shah will now be heading towards the crucial Jodhpur and Udaipur divisions to motivate party functionaries and review poll preparedness.

Shah will be in Jodhpur and Pali on September 16 for meetings of the Shakti Kendra representatives. In a bid to reach out to OBCs and the youth, he will address a BJP OBC Morcha Sammelan in Pali and a Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha Sammelan in Jodhpur.

Shah will then head to Udaipur on September 18 where he will hold a division level Scheduled Tribes meeting in a bid to woo the community. He will address a meeting of Shakti Kendra representatives and hold a meeting with intellectuals.

Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi too is making his way to Mewar. Gandhi will be in Aspur in Dungarpur district on September 20 where he will address the Congress party’s Sankalp rally. Gandhi had launched the Congress’s poll campaign with a roadshow and meeting with party workers in Jaipur on August 11.

In Rajasthan, it has been the political tradition that whichever party wins Mewar, wins Rajasthan. The 35 seats of Mewar and Vagad comprising districts of Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Pratpargarh, Rajsamand, Dungarpur and Banswara are crucial in propelling any party to power.

Not surprisingly, both parties began their poll campaigns from the region.

While chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Shah kicked off the Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra after paying obeisance at the Char Bhuja temple in Rajsamand, the Congress too flagged off its Sankalp rally from the Sanwaliya Ji temple in Chittorgarh.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the concluding public meeting of the Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra in Pushkar on September 30, Gandhi is expected to be present at the final Sankalp rally, which is likely to be held in Jaipur in October.