BJP taps Adityanath to campaign in Gujarat polls, but says Modi wave enough

Congress said the BJP was aiming for communal polarisation by calling the firebrand UP CM

The Gujarat state Assembly elections will have one more star campaigner in newly-anointed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi to canvass for the ruling BJP, which is seeking a sixth re-election to power in a row since 1995.

Confirming that the firebrand Yogi will campaign in Gujarat, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Jitu Vaghani said: "All chief ministers of our party across the country have been invited to campaign and Yogi ji will also be there."

State party spokesperson Bharat Pandya added that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister campaigning in Gujarat would help the party immensely.

He said: "Yogi ji's work as Chief Minister is being discussed and appreciated not just at the national level but even at the international level. So, his coming to Gujarat for campaigning will definitely help the BJP."

Pandya said Uttar Pradesh is the largest state in the country in terms of population and developments there have massive impact in all other states.

The BJP spokesperson, however, was quick to add that there was no replacement of Modi. "Ever since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, it has been a matter of pride for people in Gujarat and for us...Modi wave itself is enough," Pandya said.

The opposition Congress asserted that the BJP was trying to play its old game of communal polarisation by calling Yogi to canvass. Party spokesperson Himanshu Patel said it would not help the BJP this time around.

"People are fed up of the BJP rule and all issues like atrocities against Dalits, women, Patels, farmers and contract employees of the government will go against it," he said.