Amit Shah to address rallies in Maharashtra, Gujarat as part of BJP's special outreach drive

Amit Shah, Home Minister of India. File Photo

A BJP leader said that Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah will address a rally in Patan district of Gujarat on Saturday to mark the completion of nine years of the Narendra Modi government in office, the news agency PTI reported.

After Gujarat, his home state, Shah will also attend a similar function at Nanded in neighbouring Maharashtra.

In Gujarat, Shah will address the rally at Sidhpur town around 11 am, the BJP leader said.

Union minister Bhagwat Karad, BJP MP Satya Pal Singh, party's Gujarat unit president C R Paatil and its state general secretary Rajni Patel will be present on the occasion.

According to PTI report, the Gujarat BJP has organised a series of programmes to commemorate the completion of nine years of the Modi government by showcasing its achievements and several Union ministers have visited the state as part of it. Shah's rally in Nanded city of Maharashtra is scheduled to be held around 5.30 pm, another party leader said.

Shah's visit to Maharashtra assumes significance as it will take place close on the heels of incidents of communal unrest reported in parts of Maharashtra, including Kolhapur, Ahmednagar and Beed.

Nanded is the home turf of Congress veteran and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan.

Shah will come to Nanded from Gujarat and address the rally in Abchalnagar ground in the city. From Nanded, he will fly to Delhi, the BJP leader said.

Notably, Telangana Chief Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) president K Chandrasekhar Rao had earlier addressed a public meeting in Nanded. On May 19, he attended the BRS cadres' training programme in the city and announced a month-long programme to expand the BRS network in over 45,000 villages in Maharashtra.

Nanded, the second largest city in the Marathwada region, is one of the holy pilgrimage centres for Sikhs as Guru Gobind Singh had spent his last days in Nanded and passed his guruship to Guru Granth Sahib before his death.

Lok Sabha elections are due by May 2024, while Assembly polls in Maharashtra will be held a few months after that in October/November. The state comprises 48 seats of the Lok Sabha.

(With PTI inputs)