BJP people-connect drive: PM, Shah to hold rallies in state

Bhubaneswar: The BJP is planning public meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah in the state this month as part of the party’s plan to hold 51 rallies across the country to mark the Modi government’s nine years in office, state BJP president Manmohan Samal said here on Wednesday.“Of the 51 big rallies planned in the country, four will be held in Odisha. The PM, the home minister and defence minister Rajnath Singh, among other central leaders, will address the various meetings,” Samal said.The dates are being worked out, he added.Samal said the party will take the message of “new India” and “welfare of the poor” during the nine years of Modi’s governance to people’s doorsteps during the month-long ‘Maha Janasampark.’ On Wednesday, the PM addressed the first such meeting at Ajmer district in Rajasthan.“Besides the four mega rallies in Odisha, there will be 1,000 smaller meetings across the state during the one month till June 30 to spread the message of politics of development without corruption during these nine years,” he said, adding the party will appeal to people to keep their faith intact on Prime Minister Modi.The state BJP president said the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha have been divided into six clusters for reaching out to the people by having a cluster-wise approach. Senior BJP leaders will spend eight days in each cluster during in the next one month. Former Union minister and Balasore MP Pratap Chandra Sarangi has been appointed as state convenor for the Maha Janasampark, Samal said. Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Giriraj Singh, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai will also address various public meetings and take part in people connect activities.More than five lakh workers will be deployed to reach out to the one crore families in Odisha. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak Modi’s popularity has been declining fast and the BJP’s campaign will not be effective in halting that. “People have realised the current government can’t deliver on its promises and the environment is favourable towards the Congress,” he said.