Today in Politics: PM Modi’s rallies in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand — two states the BJP swept in 2014, 19

Jaipur Rural is among the 12 seats in Rajasthan going for polls in the first phase scheduled for April 19 alongside Ganganagar, Bikaner, Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Jaipur, Alwar Bharatpur, Karauli-Dholpur, Dausa and Nagaur.

Following this, the PM will be in Uttarakhand to speak at a rally in Rudrapur that falls within the Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar constituency. Ajay Bhatt, the Union Minister of State (MoS) for defence and tourism, is contesting from the seat, which he had won in 2019 defeating former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

The BJP swept both Rajasthan and Uttarakhand last time, winning all the 25 and five seats respectively. In fact, the BJP had won all of the seats in the two states in the 2014 elections too, increasing its vote shares as well. In this landscape of total dominance, the PM’s speeches will be watched for their symbolism. What are the themes that he will underline – will it be vikas or development, welfare schemes, Hindutva or all of the above?

Amit Shah in Karnataka

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in Karnataka to hold a meeting with senior leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular), its alliance partner.

The leaders will sit down for a joint breakfast meeting, an exercise that is being seen as a way of resolving and ironing out issues that might remain as we head for polls.

The BJP will contest on 25 constituencies in the state, while the JD(S), led by former PM Deve Gowda, will be in the fray from the remaining three.

“At Amit Shah’s breakfast meeting in the morning (on Tuesday), we will share our feedback and tell him about the election process that has begun in the state. The target is to win all the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state,” JD(S) president and Gowda’s son HD Kumaraswamy said.

“We don’t want small minor issues to disturb the understanding between both the parties, and our intention is that there should not be even a minor fault in reaching our goal. So, we will discuss all matters with him,” he added.

During the day, Shah will also hold a road show in Channapatna, which falls under the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency. Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law C N Manjunath is contesting the polls from there on a BJP ticket.

Jagan’s yatra rolls on

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy is continuing his ‘Memanta Siddham’ (‘We are all Ready’) election campaign bus tour, a 22-day brisk campaign through the state to ensure he keeps his hold amidst murmurs of anti-incumbency and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-Jana Sena Party (JSP)-and BJP alliance gaining momentum.

On Tuesday, he will resume the sixth day of his tour from Chikatimanipalle in the Ananthapur district and pass through the villages of Vepurikota, Burrakayalakota Cross and Gollapalli to reach Madanapalle in Annamayya district, where he will address a public meeting.

Later, he will travel to Nimmanapalli Cross, Boyakonda Cross, Chodepalli, Somala and stay the night at Ammagaripalli.

Elections for the 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled for May 13 and counting of votes is slated for June 4.

Lalu’s daughter Rohini Acharya to kick off campaign

On Monday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD) president Lalu Prasad and his wife Rabri Devi offered prayers at the famous Hariharnath temple in Bihar’s Saran district along with daughters Misa Bharti and Rohini Acharya — both of whom are likely to contest the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Acharya is likely to contest from the Saran Lok Sabha seat, while Bharti is said to have zeroed on the

Patliputra constituency. Acharya, who was in the news for kidney donation to her father, is scheduled to kick off her campaign in Saran on Tuesday, party sources told news agency PTI.

“Received the blessings of both Baba Hariharnath and ‘Janata Janardan’ of Saran today. I am overwhelmed with the immense love and blessings received from all of you. Jai Baba Hariharnath, Jai Saran, Jai Bihar, Jai RJD and Jai INDIA alliance”, Acharya said on X after visiting the Hariharnath temple.

After some tussle, the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar between RJD and the Congress announced its seat-sharing formula last week. The RJD is set to contest 26 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats, while the Congress will field its candidates in nine seats. Three Left parties, also part of the partnership, have been allotted five seats.

— With PTI inputs