Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Bhupender Yadav take stock of the preparations ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Karahal, Sheopur on September 17, on Sunday, September 11, 2022. Image Credit: ANI

Bhopal: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Madhya Pradesh on his birthday on September 17, during which he will attend a series of programmes, and sound the poll bugle for his party in the state, where elections will be held next year.

The PM’s visit comes ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra entering the state.

Prime Minister Modi’s visit is being considered very important politically, because the Assembly elections are to be held in the state next year and the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Overall, through this visit, he will give a direct message to the people because the elections in the state are going to be fought with the face of the Prime Minister.

After this visit of the Prime Minister, many more events are likely to take place in the state. Among them is the Investors Summit to be held in Indore, apart from a programme to inaugurate the corridor of Ujjain.

The BJP is excited about the Prime Minister’s visit. While discussing with the officials all the aspects related to the preparations for Modi’s visit, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Prime Minister’s visit would mainly include the releasing of cheetahs, brought from Namibia in the Palpur Kuno National Parkthe and a programme with the women self-help groups in Karahal.

A development exhibition will also be organised on this occasion. Presentation of the works being done to give impetus to the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme in the various districts of Madhya Pradesh will also be included. The ODOP projects related to mustard oil in Morena district, groundnut oil in Shivpuri district, angavastra made in Chanderi, jackets made in Shivpuri, Gondi painting of Dindori and activities related to millet products and their production and manufacturing, etc, will be mentioned before the PM.

The BJP also wants to make the Prime Minister’s tour special. Party’s state President Vishnudutt Sharma said, “It is a matter of pride for the workers of Madhya Pradesh that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is coming on September 17 for the shifting of eight African cheetahs to the Kuno National Park. All the party workers are excited by his visit and are preparing to welcome him. From September 17, the birthday of the Prime Minister, till October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the BJP will celebrate Seva Pakhwada. Under this, many campaigns of public service including blood donation camps will be run.”

Political analysts believe that this visit of the Prime Minister will sound the poll bugle for the next year’s Assembly elections in the state. Overall, the BJP will now be in full election mode and will not lag behind in making its political agenda clear before Rahul Gandhi’s padyatra enters the state. In 2018, the state saw a hung Assembly, with the Congress emerging as the single largest party. In view of this, the BJP is therefore readying itself for the polls.