BJP to resume Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra on 24 August; Congress to kick off rallies in state on same day

The BJP in Rajasthan will resume its 6,000-kilometre ‘yatra’, which was put on hold after Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s death, on Friday. The Congress too starts a series of rallies on the same day, with the assembly polls in mind. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje will begin the second leg of her ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra’ in Jodhpur division while the Congress will hold its first Sankalp rally in Chittorgarh district. The Gaurav Yatra has already covered the state’s Udaipur division but the next phase, scheduled to begin on 16 August, was postponed due to the death of the former prime minister. [caption id=“attachment_5031281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Twitter/@vasundharabjp[/caption] The first public meeting in Jodhpur division will be held in Jaisalmer on Friday. Raje will cover 1,285 kilometres and address 20 public meetings in this administrative division which includes the districts of Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pali, Sirohi, Jalore and Barmer, a party spokesperson said. The chief minister will be on the road on 24 and 25 August and then again from 29 August to 2 September in the division. She is scheduled to cover 32 of the 33 assembly constituencies in the Jodhpur division. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s 58-day yatra began on 4 August, with Raje boarding a customised bus. Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president Sachin Pilot said his party’s first Sankalp rally in Chittorgarh is expected to draw over 50,000 people. Pilot has claimed that the BJP’s Gaurav Yatra was meant to counter a Congress campaign called `Mera Booth, Mera Gaurav’. He said the “sankalp” or “pledge” rallies will highlight the government’s “failures” and make a commitment to throw the BJP out of power in the next election. Pilot said the party will also hold separate meetings with target groups like the youth and women. Other “sankalp” rallies will be held in Churu on 28 August, Barmer on 5 September, Karauli on 10 September, and Nagaur on 12 September. They will be addressed by Pilot, All India Congress Committee general secretary Avinash Pande, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Rameshwar Dudi, the party said. The BJP has announced that Vasundhara Raje will again be its chief ministerial candidate in the election to be held later this year. Congress president Rahul Gandhi recently visited the state to kick off the party’s election campaign.