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As the battle for power in poll-bound Gujarat intensifies, it is now Prime Minister Narendra Modi turn to lead the BJP’s campaign in the state. PM Modi, who is on a three-day visit to his home state, will address at least eight rallies in different parts of Kutch, Saurashtra and south Gujarat. On Monday, he will start his rally from Bhuj in Kutch district.
On Sunday, the saffron party kickstarted the campaign with “Mann Ki Baat, Chai Ke Saath” event where various party leaders listened to PM’s address while sipping tea at all 50,128 polling booths across the state. While interacting with the citizens, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley criticised Pakistan over 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s release and Union Minister Smriti Irani said people would teach the Congress a lesson for its anti-poor mindset.
The polling for the two-phase elections in Gujarat, having total 182 seats, will take place on December 9 and 14. Votes will be counted on December 18.
Also Read | In Kutch, rapid industrial growth runs side by side with farmers’ distress
Gujarat Assembly elections 2017 Highlights:
7:28 pm: Thanks for joining us at the Indian Express Live Blog. For more news and updates visit indianexpress.com
7:23 pm: PM Modi held marathon rallies in his home state on Monday. This was the first day of the three day visit to the state as campaigning reaches its peak. The election in the state is scheduled in two phases on December 9, 14.
6:35 pm: Adding to PM Modi’s heated attack on Congress, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “PM understands poverty & poor. Some people are really upset that why India is becoming honest? That why is Narendra Modi government working for poor?”
6:30 pm: PM Modi concludes his speech in Surat.
6:26 pm: PM Modi in his address said, “In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress was feeling so confident about victory. They began to call Gujaratis donkeys. And now, they are coming here to Gujarat to seek support. Nobody can insult the people of Gujarat like this.”
6:22 pm: Morarji Bhai Desai was a successful Finance Minister and a believer in Gandhi Ji. The Congress mistreated him and even when he became PM they troubled him, says PM Modi.
6:19 pm: Addressing the crowd at Surat PM Modi, “Overnight, Indira Ji removed Morarji Bhai from the Cabinet. She did not open the doors of the bank for the poor. When we got the opportunity to serve, the first thing we did was to start the Jan Dhan Yojana and focus on financial inclusion.”
6:13 pm: PM Modi said that Congress Party has not done anything for the people and it does not want to do anything neither does it want others to do anything for the people.
6:10 pm: Recounting his government’s achievements Modi says, “Our Government has taken steps to ensure people from middle class families can own their homes. We reduced prices of stents and made healthcare affordable.”
6:00 pm: PM Modi who has slammed Congress throughout the day in various rallies on Monday did not spare the party in Surat as well and said that Congress has been indulged in corruption at every opportunity.
5:56 pm: Congress is disconnected with the aspirations of the people of India, says PM Modi in Surat.
5:50 pm: PM Modi targetted the Congress in his fourth rally as well and said that arrogance of the party is at a record high. They do not realise that the times have changed. The youth sees things very differently, things are very different in Gujarat from the time Congress ruled here 22 years ago.
5:49 pm: Congress has shown contempt for Gujarat. They prevented Narmada waters from reaching people across the state, their reign was characterised by poor law and order, and they destabilised Chief Ministers from the Patel community be it Babubhai, Chimanbhai, Keshubhai and Anandiben, says PM Modi.
5:47 pm: After campaigning in Kutch, Rajkot, Amreli districts I have come to Surat. I am seeing the energetic response among people. I am also seeing Congress is scared of defeat and are unable to match BJP’s focus on development and good governance, says PM Modi in Kamrej.
5:45 pm: PM Modi addresses the fourth rally in Kamrej of Surat district.
5:20 pm: PM Modi who was the CM of Gujarat for over a decade before being elevated to the union government has wide popularity among the local crowds in the state.
5:10 pm: People await in large numbers for PM Modi at the rally in Kadodara of Surat.
4:50 pm: PM Modi on the first day of his three-day visit interacted with people and addressed three rallies, the fourth and final rally of the day is scheduled in Surat.
4:22 pm: Hitting back at PM Modi over his remarks against Congress, senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, “He is saying such things to gain sympathy ahead of the election.”
4:20 pm: PM Modi takes off in a chopper from Dhari town, next stop Kamrej in Surat.
4:06 pm: As PM concludes his address, people begin to depart from the rally ground in Dhari of Amreli district.
4:01 pm: PM Modi concludes his speech in Dhari town of Amreli, he will next fly to Kamrej in Surat.
3:59 pm: Hailing his government’s move of note ban, PM Modi said that their efforts against corruption troubled the Congress.
3:58 pm: Slamming the opposition PM Modi said that people of Gujarat will never trust those who change their statements in morning, afternoon, evening and the next day.
3:56 pm: Reiterating his commitment towards the people Modi said that I’m on a mission now to give citizens of the country what citizens of the country should have been given 50 years ago.
3:52 pm: 3 crores LED bulbs installed in Gujarat saving Rs2000 crore of people towards electricity bill. When Manmohan Singh was PM and Sonia Gandhi was running govt, LED bulb used to cost Rs300. Now, it’s Rs70 only. Where the profit was going, says Modi.
3:51 pm: Blaming Congress government for the unemployment and lack of job opportunities in the area, PM Modi says, “Had government brought Narmada water here 30 years ago, youth would not have to go to Mumbai and live in slum-like conditions.”
3:48 pm: PM Modi in a bid to address the problems of the region says, “It is the BJP Government in Gujarat that worked on harnessing the coastal strengths of this district.”
3:47 pm: PM Modi in Amreli district.
3:46 pm: PM Modi blames 70-year rule of Congress in the state for poor development of the district, says BJP has prepared a blueprint for its development.
3:43 pm: Attacking the Congress, PM Modi says, “CM of the state was sitting on a fast on the issue of Narmada. But the then PM now says that the CM never met him. Can anyone accept such a lie?” He remarks that Congress can’t stand Gujarat.
3:42 pm: Targetting Congress PM Modi says, “Congress has tried to paint this election with lies. There have been elections in Gujarat previously also but such a trash talk being seen for the first time.”
3:41 pm: PM Modi begins his address in public meeting in Amreli district.
3:40 pm: Rupala urges people to vote for BJP and says, “Teach Congress a lesson by voting in a manner that all five Congress candidates in Amreli for Assembly elections are defeated and lose their deposits.”
3:34 pm: Speaking at the rally, Union Minister Purushottam Rupala says, “Manmohan Singh came to Ahmedabad and said that Modi had never met him over Narmada dam issue. I want to know from him if not Modi than any Congress leaders from Gujarat ever met him? Did the PM responded to them?”
3:31 pm: The party has gone all out against Congress with leaders saying, “Congress should adopt a resolution and thank Modi for tackling the issue of corruption which Rajiv Gandhi couldn’t do.”
3:30 pm: Local BJP leaders praise PM Modi for his leadership and governance as people await Modi to begin his speech.
3:27 pm: PM Modi arrives on stage at Amreli to address the crowd on the first day of his three-day visit to the poll-bound state.
3:23 pm:
3:18 pm: The Gujarat elections have turned out to be a major political battle in the country, with young leaders taking centre stage in the state’s politics.
Also Read | Who is Jignesh Mevani?
3:15 pm: Local leaders begin addressing the crowd ahead of PM Modi’s address at the Amreli rally in Gujarat.
3:14 pm:
3:09 pm: Preparations have been made in Amreli where the PM is going to address a rally.
2:55 pm: Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani who will be contesting the election as an independent candidate Banaskantha’s Vadgam is files his nomination.
2.45 pm: Pitting one caste against the other is Congress’ tendency. Make sure that you do not let them destroy the composite culture of Gujarat: PM Narendra Modi in Rajkot’s Jasdan
2.41 pm: Remember the Gujarat before BJP came to power? To travel to Ahmedabad also people had to ask is it safe. Law and order situation in the state was very poor. All this changed after BJP came to power, says PM Modi.
2.34 pm: “We have served Gujarat without any discrimination. Our belief is in the Mantra of ‘Sauno Saath, Sauno Vikas’ (Sab ka saath, sab ka vikaas),” the prime minister said.
2.32 pm: The Congress party also released the list of candidates selected by CEC for the second phase of elections to the Legislative Assembly of Gujarat.
2.25 pm: The solution to all problems is development. Development has to be continuous. We want to work even more for the people of Gujarat.
2.23 pm: I request the Congress not to mock the poor and my poor origins, says PM
2.22 pm: The Congress dislikes me because of my poor origins. Can a party stoop so low? Yes, a person belonging to a poor family has become PM. They do not fail to hide their contempt for this fact. Yes, I sold tea but I did not sell the nation, says PM
2.20 pm: When Keshubhai Patel, a son of Saurashtra became the CM the Congress tried everything to dislodge him. They repeated the same disruptive tactic with Anandiben Patel, a daughter of the Patel Community. Congress has defamed Gujarat always, says PM Modi
2.18 pm: When Chimanbhai Patel begun to stand on his own feet the Congress got angry- why is he being independent? So they removed him as well. It was the BJP that supported Chimanbhai and both he and Keshubhai Patel worked together, says PM Modi
2.15 pm: It was with the support of the Jan Sangh that a person from the Patel Community, Babubhai Patel became CM. Congress did not like this and ensured that Babubhai Jashbhai’s government did not last, says PM Modi
2.12 pm: How did the Congress treat Sardar Patel and Morarji Desai? That is for everyone to see. Which was the party that made the entire nation a prison during the Emergency? That also everyone knows, says PM Modi. There was a person who led a life of discipline on Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, a disciplined & hard working son of the soil just like Sardar Patel but he he had the same ‘flaw’ of being a Gujrati, so he was not allowed to stay in national politics by them (Cong), Modi added.
2.10 pm: When we started bringing the waters of the Narmada here to Saurashtra, there were people who were mocking us. Their negative politics has not changed over the years. Our faith is in politics of development and good governance, says PM Modi
2.00 pm: Narendra Modi has reached Jasdan and is now addressing the crowd.
1.57 pm:
1.30 pm:
1.10 pm: Attacking Rahul Gandhi for his temple visits during the Navsarajan Yatra, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, PMO said, “Rahul Gandhi is trying to induce a political culture based on lies & hypocrisy. For example- Why does Rahul Gandhi visit temples only when he is in Gujarat? Has he ever visited a temple in neighbourhood of his Delhi residence?” reports ANI.
12.12 pm: The rally in Bhuj has concluded. The Prime Minister’s convoy is now on its way to Jasdan in Gujarat.
12.09 pm: Prime Minister announced ‘Ro-ro’ (rollon-rolloff) service for Kutch region. He adds, “We are not here for power, we are here for 125 crore Indians. We want to take India to new heights of glory.”
12.07 pm: During the meeting on GST, Congress showed support. However, after coming out the party changed its stand and started attacking GST.
Read | PM Modi’s top quotes from rally in Bhuj: ‘How dare you abuse son of Gujarat’
12.05 pm: In response to the attacks on note-ban, PM Modi said, “Congress is unhappy about demonetisation. They keep attacking me but I want to tell them…I have grown up in the same land as Sardar Patel. I will ensure that the poor get their due. We will not allow this nation to be looted.”
12.03 pm: “India was attacked on 26/11 and in Uri. You can see how India responded in the wake of both the attacks. This explains the difference between their Government and ours,” says PM Modi.
12.00 pm: Attacking the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi for meeting a Chinese envoy during the Doklam standoff, Modi said that the party disrespected the army as it refused to believe the soldiers. On Hafeez Saeed, Modi said that Congress is looking at it as BJP’s failure and is celebrating it. “These people (Opposition) asked for pictures of Surgical strike as evidence. Did we go to shoot a film?”
11.57 am: “There are some people who love spreading negativity and pessimism. My appeal to them is to stop doing that. They lack Neeti, Niyat, a Neta and a Naata with the people (policy, character, leader and association with people).”
11.56 am: “When big earthquakes take place people say see this building fell, but in Kutch people say this school, this hospital, these buildings were made after the earthquake. All this was done on war footing by the army of Kutch which consists of its people”
11.54 am: “Kutch is one such region which has Pakistan on one side and a wide desert on the other. Nobody thought if there could be any development in this region, but we brought a tributary to this region. Development and tourism followed. People from the nation are coming here to enjoy the Rann Utsav. The development work in Kutch after the 2001 quake is for all to see.”
11.51 am: Prime Minister Modi recollects the time that he was sent to Gujarat after the Kutch earthquake. “Atal Ji asked me to go to Gujarat. I spent considerable time in Kutch and learnt what administration is about.”
11.50 am: Officers did not want to get posted to #Kutch region as the water here was black in colour. Congress did not allow Narmada water to come to Kutch region. What if the Narmada waters had come to Kutch 30 years earlier? It would have made such a big difference.
11.48 am: Gujarat is my soul and mother, my relationship with you is that of equality since you call me brother, says PM.
11.39 am: Attacking the Congress government, PM Modi said that the people of Gujarat would never forgive the party as they had killed the youngsters who were associated with the Maha Gujarat Movement. They are coming to Gujarat and spreading lies about a son of Gujarat. Earlier they did that with Sardar Patel also. Gujarat will never accept this. The election in the state is a battle between “vikas and vanshwaad” (development and dynasty), he said.
11.37 am: “I am grateful for all the ‘kichad’ being thrown at me, after all, a lotus blooms only in ‘kichad’ so, I don’t mind if more is thrown at me,” says Prime Minister in response to the criticism that comes his way.
11.30 am: PM Modi begins addressing the crowd in Bhuj.
11.20 am: Prime Minister Modi to address the rally shortly.
11.09 am: Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is currently addressing the crowd in Bhuj.
11.04 am: Calling Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as a gappidas (one who tells lies), Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani lashed out at him for “Dishing out wrong facts” to the people of the state. He also said, “Nobody will endorse the formula given by the Congress except Kapil Sibal, who is from that party. The Congress formula on giving reservations above the 50% cap is an attempt to deceive the people and it won’t work.”
10.30 am: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also conveyed his best wishes to Mewani.
10.05 am: Jignesh Mawani will contest as an independent candidate from Banaskantha’s Vadgam for the upcoming polls. Taking to Twitter, Mewani said, “Friends, I m contesting from Vadgam-11 seat of Banaskantha district of Gujarat as an independent candidate. We shall fight, we shall win.” ” My appeal to other parties is not to filed candidates in Vadgam so that the fight is directly between me and BJP,” he added.
9.54 am: Prime Minister Modi reaches Ashapura temple
9.52 am: BJP releases sixth list of 34 candidates for the polls, reports ANI.
9.43 am: Actor and MP Paresh Rawal while addressing the “Mann Ki Baat, Chai Ke Saath” event asked the audience asked if they would like a son like Rahul Gandhi or PM Modi. Comparing the prime minister to Gautam Buddha, the actor said, “Such a man (like Narendra Modi) is difficult to find. Such a man can only come after much worship. Such dynamic persons are incarnations and can’t be produced by politics.”
9.24 am:
9.10 am: “Each rally has been organised in such a way that people from five to six surrounding constituencies can also attend it,” Gujarat BJP in-charge Bhupender Yadav said.
9.07 am: Several prominent leaders including Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states — Yogi Adityanath and Vasundhara Raje are expected to join the campaign.
8.46 am: Congress on Sunday also released its list of 76 candidates for the second phase of the election. The filing of nomination for phase one ends today. Congress, however, could not finalise the names of its candidates in 17 more seats, owing to internal party disputes. Few workers had also reportedly vandalised property at the party office in Gandhinagar.
8.40 am:
8.30 am: Prime Minister Modi will first visit a temple in Kutch and seek the blessings of Ashapura Mata. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi on Sunday said, “Tomorrow I begin my rallies across Gujarat. My first rally will be in Bhuj, Kutch. This district is close to my heart. Its spirit of resilience after the 2001 quake was seen by the world. Since then, Kutch has seen record progress, which has benefitted all sections of society. Tomorrow I would address rallies in Jasdan, Dhari and Kamrej. Guided by the Mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ we are committed to taking Gujarat to even new heights of growth and building on the good work done in the last two decades in the state.”
8.20 am: Welcome to our live blog on Gujarat elections. We will be tracking the Prime Minister’s campaign and bring you all the updates from the poll-bound state
