Modi meets Gujarat BJP leaders as Assembly polls loom on horizon

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressed a gathering of Gujarat BJP leaders here as Assembly elections in the state draw near, and asked them to maintain a close contact with people.

Met fellow @BJP4Gujarat leaders and Karyakartas at the state BJP HQ. Discussed how our Party organisation can serve the people even more effectively and contribute towards national development, he tweeted after the meeting.

More than 430 leaders and workers were present at the meeting held at the party's state headquarters, said BJP spokesperson Yamal Vyas.

"The prime minister was welcomed with a garland by women party workers. He provided guidance to those in attendance, Vyas said, without disclosing details of the prime minister's speech.

Sources said that Modi asked BJP leaders and workers in the state to maintain a close contact with people.

He asked party workers to make people aware of various schemes and programs implemented by the government in the last ten years, sources added.

Modi also asked state leaders to increase coordination with the cadres working on the ground, they said.

The prime minister's focus was to extend outreach to the people in every sphere of society, sources said.

The PM's speech lasted for over 35 minutes.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, his predecessor Vijay Rupani and former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel were present, among others.

Assembly elections are due in Gujarat in December 2022.

Earlier in the day, arriving in Gujarat after the BJP's impressive performance in elections in Uttar Pradesh and three other states, the prime minister conducted a roadshow in Ahmedabad.

In 2017, the BJP had managed to win 99 seats, only seven more than the majority mark of 92, in Gujarat, the prime minister's home state.

The saffron party is in power in Gujarat since 1998 and can face huge anti-incumbency.

The party carried out a sudden change of guard in the state in September 2021 -- in the aftermath of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic -- when the Rupani cabinet made way for a new ministry headed by first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel.