As BJP seeks to finalise its candidate list for the forthcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan, the Prime Minister will visit the state on Monday to launch development projects worth about ₹7,000 crore.
The Prime Minister is visiting Chittorgarh in Rajasthan to inaugurate the Mehsana-Bathinda-Gurdaspur gas pipeline, built at a cost of ₹4,500 crore, and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's (HPCL) LPG plant in Abu Road. Laying foundation stones for a four-lane road on NH-12 (new NH-52) on the Darah-Jhalawar-Teendhar section, a railway overbridge and a permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Kota, also feature on the PM's schedule.
In Madhya Pradesh
Modi is also visiting Madhya Pradesh, another poll-bound state, on Monday. The projects to be unveiled in Madhya Pradesh include the Delhi-Vadodara Expressway and homes built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Gramin and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban. He will also lay the foundation stone for five different road projects worth over ₹1,880 crore, Jal Jeevan Mission projects worth over ₹1,530 crore in Gwalior and Sheopur districts and nine health centres under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission.
CEC meeting
Modi's visit to Rajasthan comes as Modi chaired a meeting of the BJP Central Election Committee on Sunday to finalise its candidates for the forthcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan. The primary focus of the discussion revolved around constituencies where the party's presence is relatively weaker, reported ANI.
Sources said discussions regarding around 60 to 65 seats in Rajasthan had been concluded. "Out of 200 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly, discussions have been completed for 65 seats while discussions," the source told ANI.
Ahead of the CEC meeting, a core group meeting was conducted at the residence of BJP President JP Nadda which saw the presence of veteran leaders including Vasundhara Raje, Arun Singh, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Arjun Ram Meghwal.
The party is likely to follow the Madhya Pradesh strategy which saw it fielding three Union ministers, besides four other MPs, for the upcoming assembly polls. Names of union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kailash Choudhary are doing the rounds.
The naming of candidates before the ECI declaration of poll dates is a new trend followed by the party to give candidates ample time to drive their campaigns, especially in seats held by the Congress.