Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Reuters
Srinagar: With first phase of assembly polls just five days away, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election blitzkrieg is set to commence from hilly Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday
Modi’s high-profile campaign tour is aimed to energize the BJP base and sway undecided voters, with a critical rally planned for Saturday at Doda Sports Stadium, which is considered as center place for Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts (also known as Chenab Valley) where voting for eight Assembly seats is scheduled on September 18.
This would be Prime Minister’s first campaign event in poll bound Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly polls were announced. During the 2014 Assembly elections, as newly elected PM, Modi had addressed the BJP poll rally in Kishtwar and the party won four out of six segments.
Riding on the Modi wave, the BJP had won 25 out of 87 seats in J&K assembly and all the victories had come from Jammu region. It was the best performance of the BJP in the Muslim majority region.
BJP sources said the choice of Doda as the venue for Saturday’s rally was made by the PM himself. The BJP has already said that its star campaigner, the Prime Minister, will visit J&K for electioneering in every phase of the Assembly elections.
PM Modi is also expected to visit Srinagar for an election rally on September 19. Voting in the three phases of J&K polls is being held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 8.