Today in Politics: PM Modi to ramp up BJP campaign in Gujarat; Priyanka Gandhi to hold rally in Ajmal turf

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on Wednesday set to campaign in Gujarat, which is heading to polls in the third phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections on May 7. PM Modi is expected to address public meetings in the Banaskantha and Sabarkantha Lok Sabha constituencies, which is expected to boost the BJP’s electioneering in the state.

In Gujarat, the BJP had swept in the last two Lok Sabha elections, winning 26 out of 26 seats, even as the party has been ruling the state continuously since 1998. However, just winning all 26 seats again is not the BJP’s stated goal in the state this time – the party says it is aiming to win every seat here by a margin of 5 lakh votes, as reported by The Indian Express.

Already in Surat, BJP candidate Mukesh Dalal has been elected unopposed after the Congress candidate’s nomination papers were rejected and the remaining candidates dropped out. The principal Opposition Congress finds itself depleted more in Gujarat in recent months, having lost several sitting and former legislators to defections.

However, the Gujarat BJP continues to contend with anger among Kshatriyas, who are protesting against Union minister and first-time Lok Sabha contestant Parshottam Rupala over his remarks made in March that purportedly suggested that the community had bowed meekly before the British. Despite his several apologies, Kshatriya groups have sought his withdrawal as a candidate and organised a series of protest rallies. On Wednesday, a protest is set to be held in Gujarat’s Anand against the BJP.

Recommended reading: Behind Rupala’s woes, a Kshatriya longing for past

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is covering four states with a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Korba, a rally and a roadshow in Karnataka’s