BJP ‘Karyakarta Mahakumbh’ in Bhopal : PM blows poll bugle in MP, attacks Congress

Ahead of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming for a record fourth term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the Congress party is trying to join hands with regional parties because it fears losing the polls.

Launching the BJP’s election campaign in the state, Modi cautioned party workers that the opposition will use money power, misinformation campaign and caste differences to oust the ruling party.

“The Congress is scared of losing the assembly elections. That is why it wants certificates from smaller parties. BJP will not let the Congress succeed in its design of using money power, caste differences and misinformation campaign against BJP,” Modi told party workers in Bhopal.

Modi said discussions  between opposition parties and the ruling party should be on policies and development,  but Congress leaders lacked credibility and were not ready to make development an  election issue. He said five more years of a BJP government in the state will help Madhya  Pradesh as the party is also in power at the Centre.

Modi also targeted the  Congress on the issue of instant triple talaq, saying that the party was not ready to support  the cause due to vote bank politics. “How can we differentiate on the basis of religion  when we talk about protecting the rights of our women and girls? Congress is not worried  about the rights of Muslim women and is only worried about vote-bank politics. Women  should have equal rights.”

The upcoming assembly  elections in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will see a  direct clash between the BJP and Congress. They assume further significance for the BJP  as it is aiming for a repeat of its dominant performance in the 2014 general elections,  when it managed to win 62 of the 65 Lok Sabha seats in these three states. The polls  are due in December.

Continuing his attack on the  Congress, Modi said the party, which has a history of 133 years, should introspect to  understand why it is in a decline and is being rejected by people in most states. Modi also  alleged that the Congress leadership was looking for an alliance outside India to oust him.  Would a foreign country now decide who should be the prime minister of India, he  asked.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra  has claimed that the Congress was conspiring with Pakistan to oust Modi. Defence  minister Nirmala Sitharaman has also named former French president Francois  Hollande in connection with his remarks on the Rafale controversy.

Thick security cover 

Police have made elaborate  security arrangements for the high-profile event and also Modi’s visit. “We have made  adequate security arrangements for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi  on Tuesday by deploying nearly 6,000-strong force, including 4,000 personnel from  the central and reserve forces,” Inspector General (IG) Bhopal Jaideep Prasad told  PTI.

Nearly 22 senior IPS  officers have been deployed to coordinate security details, he said.

Poll-bugle

The ‘Karyakarta  Mahakumbh’ is BJP’s poll-bugle for Madhya Pradesh, which is going to polls by year-end along with Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.

Modi and Shah, two star poll campaigners of the BJP, will be in Bhopal days after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi  visited the state capital.

Gandhi held a roadshow and later addressed Congress workers and office-bearers during his September 17 visit. Both the national parties are in poll campaign mode in the state, where the BJP  is in power since 2003.

While the saffron outfit will seek a fourth straight term in office in the year-end elections, the Congress will look to  wrest power from the BJP in a state which was once its stronghold.