ELECTION FRENZY CRESCENDOES IN RAJASTHAN, CONG KICKS OFF GUARANTEE YATRAS

As the last date for filing nominations in Rajasthan was on Monday, the election campaign has begun peaking in the state. Soon, the Congress party will start the “Guarantee Yatras” across the state. The BJP’s campaign has also gained momentum, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah ready to set the agenda of the party by starting rallies today.

In the rally organised after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot filed a nomination from Jodhpur’s Sardar Shahar seat, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge fiercely attacked the BJP and the central government and praised Chief Minister Gehlot. Chief Minister Gehlot targeted the Center over the ED action, by mentioning the achievements of his government and the seven guarantees that he has given.

Congress has set the agenda for elections. CM Gehlot and his party are fighting on the seven guarantees and public welfare schemes. The party is going to start a comprehensive campaign from Tuesday to take the seven guarantees among the common people like a ‘Bachat Rahat Camp’. With this, the “guarantee yatras” will commence from Jaipur, which will be flagged off by Chief Minister Gehlot.

These guarantee yatras will go to 33 districts, starting from Jodhpur on November 8 and passing through Udaipur on November 9, Ajmer on 10th November, Bikaner on 11th November, Kota on 14th November and Bharatpur on 15th November. These yatras will travel to every assembly constituency.

The election rallies organised in between the yatras will be attended by many prominent leaders, including the party’s national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. These yatras originating from seven divisions will cover a distance of 4400 kilometers.

There will be 137 guaranteed dialogues during this period. Congress will also organise more than 1000 guarantee camps during the Guarantee Yatra and will also distribute more than two crore guarantee cards.

14 special election buses will be used in this journey. For the first time, Congress is going to do a different kind of experiment to win the elections. As part of this, there will be a focus on schemes. Congress has promised enactment of a law for OPS, Rs 10,000 for housewives, distribution of laptops etc.

On the other hand, the BJP has made paper leaks, women’s safety and corruption significant election issues. After this, more specific issues will be known only after the public meetings of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. For the first time, the party has not fielded even a single Muslim candidate in Rajasthan as Yunus Khan, who was hoping for the only Muslim ticket, has left the party. He is contesting the elections as an independent candidate. This could also be a part of BJP’s election strategy.

Now, speculations are that the BJP is seeking to lend a flavour of the Hindutva agenda to the campaign by denying tickets to Muslim candidates. Amit Shah’s visit will also give a clear picture of this. After Shah’s visit, the role of former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and other leaders will also be known. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address an election rally in the Udaipur division on 9th November.