PM Modi to address rally in Doda today

Jammu, Sep 13: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is arriving tomorrow to address an election rally in Doda to take the Bharatiya Janata Party’s high-voltage campaign in Chenab Valley to its crescendo.

As per his itinerary, PM Modi is scheduled to address a rally, his first in J&K Assembly polls-2024, at Sports Stadium, Doda at around 12 pm.

Doda district is among three districts of Chenab Valley in the Jammu region, going to polls in the first phase of assembly elections on September 18.

“This will be a mega electoral rally of our leading star campaigner and will have the desired effect in all assembly segments of Chenab Valley. So far, his only engagement is this election rally at Doda. Last-minute changes cannot be ruled out. PM Modi’s mere presence among party leaders and workers is enough to enthuse them and boost their morale. The party is eyeing to better its 2014 record here,” a senior BJP leader stated.

“Nothing can deter the party and its workers, who believe in the strength of democracy,” he said when asked if the ongoing encounter in the neighbouring Kishtwar district would have an impact on the PM's election rally, which the party would like to see as a mega event.

For this event, the majority of the senior party leaders and office bearers have already reached Doda to witness the blitzkrieg effect of the Prime Minister’s rally.

Following delimitation, there are eight assembly constituencies in Chenab Valley, three each in Doda and Kishtwar districts and two in Ramban district. Two segments, one each in Doda and Kishtwar, have been added in delimitation.

In the last assembly elections in 2014, the BJP had won four seats out of six constituencies of three districts in Chenab valley. The party had won both seats in the Doda district and one each from the Kishtwar and Ramban districts.

In 2014, the Prime Minister addressed an election rally in the Kishtwar district and its impact was felt across Chenab Valley as the party gave its most impressive performance thereby bagging four out of six seats.

The party is hoping for a similar effect this time also when its stakes are a notch up.

Prime Minister Modi along with his cabinet colleagues Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Health Minister and BJP President J P Nadda and Nitin Gadkari figure in the list of party’s star campaigners for all three phases.

Jammu region, being the BJP’s forte, is getting the main focus of the party.