Bhopal: The BJP will hold its ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh from 3 to 21 September but unlike the case in 2018, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will not be the only face leading it. He will participate for only half a day on each of the 18 yatra days, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Bhopal Monday, in what seemed to lend credence to speculation about the BJP high command keeping its options open about the next CM if it retains power.
The ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ is a massive public outreach programme of the BJP to showcase its government’s achievements. In the run-up to the last assembly election in July 2018, Chouhan had led the rally solo.
ThePrint had reported in the first week of August that Chouhan might not be the face of the Jan Ashirwad Yatra and would likely be joined by other senior leaders.
Speaking at a press conference, Tomar, when asked why a yatra led by Chouhan in 2018 will have many leaders at the helm this time, said, “Jab maine ye kaha ki samuhik netrutva hai, par shreshta toh Shivraj ji ko ki hai…wo hamare mukhya mantri hai (There is collective leadership, but most important is Shivraj ji as he is our chief minister).” He did not elaborate on which other senior leaders will be leading the yatra alongside the CM.
The Union minister, who was accompanied by state BJP president V. D. Sharma, was last month appointed convenor of the BJP’s election management committee for the upcoming MP assembly polls.
To a question on why the party has not announced a CM face before taking out the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, Tomar said, “Some things I have to decide, some are decided by the state president and some by the parliamentary board together. If you want an answer from me, how will one comment until a decision has been taken?”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in the state on 20 August, had also sidestepped a question on the party’s chief ministerial face for MP. Asked if Chouhan will be the CM face for the party, he had said, “Shivraj ji is the chief minister, It is our party’s job and we will decide.”
Like Shah, Tomar too sidestepped the question Monday and instead spoke on the development work done in Madhya Pradesh by Chouhan’s government and the central leadership in Delhi.
The Union minister also said that the Jan Ashirwad Yatra this year is aiming to cover the state in just 18 days as opposed to 52 days. The yatra will cover 10,463 km over 18 days, during which the development work of the BJP government and the failure of the Congress will be highlighted, he added.
Tomar, the Union minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare, also said that before 2003 (during Digvijaya Singh’s tenure as CM), Madhya Pradesh was in a state of mismanagement.
He added: “Since then, BJP has made tremendous contribution in putting the state on the path of development, be it the state government or central government. In agriculture, there was a time when only Punjab and Haryana were named, but the efforts of the BJP government in making adequate efforts to provide water for irrigation and electricity, along with the efforts of farmers, have put MP in a place where it is winning the Krishi Karman Award (given to best performing states in food grain production).”
He also said that the MP government has successfully brought positive changes for those living in poverty with education for their children, homes for their families. The Ladli Behna scheme is gaining popularity in the state and the government is working to not only provide jobs but the Seekho Kamao Yojana (Learn and Earn scheme) is also becoming significant, he added.
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Chitrakoot to Sheopur, 5 yatras to span 210 constituencies
State party chief Sharma said the ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’ will include five yatras. The first one will be flagged off on 3 September by Amit Shah in Chitrakoot of Satna district, which falls in the Vindhya range. The remaining four yatras will start from Mandla in the Mahakaushal region, Khandwa in the Nimar region, Ujjain in Malwa region, and Sheopur in the Gwalior-Chambal region, covering 210 of the 230 constituencies in the state.
While the yatra is ongoing, the party will hold 211 sabhas (public meetings), along with over 600 smaller yatras.
All the five yatras will culminate in Bhopal on 21 September, while an official function will be held there on 25 September on the eve of the birth anniversary of Bharatiya Jana Sangh chief Deendayal Upadhyaya.
“A karyakarta mahakumbh will be held on the birth anniversary of Deendayal Upadhyaya in Bhopal and over 10 lakh booth workers will be assembling for the event, where they will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Sharma.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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