Amit Shah to begin three-day Chhattisgarh visit today

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Thursday will begin his three-day visit to Chahhttisgarh.

Shah will hold talks with MPs, MLAs, BJP office-bearers and workers to guide about how to strengthen the party ahead of next year's Assembly polls and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A road-map for the coming Assembly and parliamentary elections will be drafted under the guidance of the BJP national president.

He will visit the birth place of Satnami saint Guru Ghasi Das ji in Giroudhpuri, 130 km from the state capital Raipur.

Shah will be concentrating more towards augmentation of Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste vote banks.

Scheduled Castes constitute about 12 percent of Chhattisgarh's population of 2.5 crore.

These communities, once considered a Congress vote-bank, sided with the BJP in the 2013 Assembly elections.

The ruling party won nine out of 10 seats reserved for the SCs then.

However, it is being maintained that Shah's visit to Giroudhpuri is apolitical.

The Congress said it would stage protests against alleged 'commission-khori' (bribery culture) in the BJP-ruled state during Shah's visit.

During his stay, Shah will be attending 16 meetings apart from inaugurating Modi Fest.