The BJP has lined up rallies to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah in Rajasthan next week to boost its Lok Sabha election campaign.

Modi will address public meetings in the Mewar and Marwar regions where polling for the first phase of election in Rajasthan will be held on April 29.

Shah will hold public meetings and a road show between April 23 and May 3. The second phase of voting in Rajasthan is scheduled on May 6.

With the BJP relying on the ‘Modi’ factor to win the election, leaders say the Prime Minister’s meetings are expected to motivate workers and consolidate voters in the party’s favour.

On April 21, Modi will address a rally in Chittorgarh in support of BJP candidate CP Joshi.

In the evening, he will address a rally in Barmer where BJP candidate Kailash Chaudhary is pitted against former BJP leader and Rajput strongman Manvendra Singh. The Barmer seat presents a tough challenge for the BJP as Manvendra is expected to eat into the BJP’s Rajput vote bank while also swaying votes of traditional Congress supporters, such as Dalits and minorities.

Modi will address rallies in Udaipur and Jodhpur on April 22. In Udaipur, BJP’s sitting MP Arjunlal Meena is pitted against Congress’s Raghuveer Meena. The Udaipur rally is aimed at consolidating the tribal vote bank. Along with Udaipur, the rally will also target voters in the Banswara-Dungarpur Lok Sabha seat.

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The Jodhpur seat presents another tough challenge for the BJP and is being seen as a fight for prestige. Sitting MP and union minister Gajendra Shekhwat is up against chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s son, Vaibhav.

Shah is expected to hold a public meeting in Pali on April 26 and a road show in Kota in support of the party’s candidates. In Pali, BJP’s PP Chaudhary is up against Congress’s Badri Jakhar.

On April 30, he will hold rallies in Bharatpur and Dausa. The Dausa seat where the BJP has fielded Jaskaur Meena against Savita Meena of the Congress is also a tough fight for the BJP. In Bharatpur, BJP’s Ranjita Koli will take on Congress’s Abhijit Jatav.

On May 3, he will focus on the Jat belt and is expected to address public meetings at two places from among Alwar, Sikar and Jhunjhunu. In Alwar, Baba Balaknath of the BJP is up against former MP Jitendra Singh while in Sikar another religious leader and sitting MP, Sumedhanand Saraswati faces former MP Subhash Maharia of Congress. In Jhunjhunu, former MLA Narendra Khinchad of the BJP is pitted against former MLA Shrawan Kumar of the Congress.

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First Published: Apr 16, 2019 15:07 IST