<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit tribal-dominated south Gujarat on Friday to inaugurate developmental projects worth over Rs 3,000 crore.</p>.<p>Among the projects is the inauguration of the Astol project that promises to supply tap water to the tribal population in as many as 174 villages and 1,028 hamlets located sparsely on the hills in Valsad district.</p>.<p>Modi will also address a mass gathering of tribals at ‘Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’ to be held at Kudvel village in Navsari district. People from all neighbouring districts—including Dang, Tapi and Valsad—are expected to participate at this event. The PM’s visit—fourth such in the past four months—to his home state becomes more significant in view of the recent large-scale protests against the Narmada-Par-Tapi river linking project announced by the state government.</p>.<p>With the Gujarat Assembly election scheduled for December, the protest forced the Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government to cancel the river linking project; but the damage is said to have been done.</p>.<p>The PM’s visit is speculated to be an attempt to placate the locals who have been traditionally voting for the Congress. In 2017 polls, Congress outperformed BJP by winning 15 out of 27 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes—majority of those seats come in Gujarat’s south and neighbouring central districts—while BJP could win only nine seats. There are nearly ten more Assembly seats where tribal voters could sway the results.</p>.<p>For the past several months, the BJP has been focusing on tribal voters—Prime Minister and his Union home minister Amit Shah have been leading the outreach programme from the front. In April, Modi and Shah visited Dahod and Godhra, respectively, in central Gujarat and inaugurated development works and addressed public meetings. The BJP is also said to be worried about Narmada and Bharuch districts—the Bharatiya Tribal Party, led by Chhotubhai Vasava, which won two seats in the 2017 elections has now aligned with the Aam Aadmi Party.</p>.<p>In 2017, the BJP managed to pull off the majority—with just 99 seats out of 182—but had its worst tally in 27 years of uninterrupted rule. This time, the political scene is a bit different, especially in the south Gujarat region. BJP’s state president C R Paatil, from south Gujarat's Surat district, is at the helm of affairs and is known for meticulously strategising the elections.</p>.<p>However, despite the measures it’s a long road ahead for the BJP. A party insider said that the protest over the Narmada-Par-Tapi river linking project could impact the party's fortune in the elections. “Paatil saheb knew that it was a big blow and hence had rushed to Delhi to get it (the river linking project) postponed and eventually got it cancelled. Besides, there are issues of unemployment among the tribal youth and the BTP-AAP alliance may (also) have some impact,” a BJP insider said.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit tribal-dominated south Gujarat on Friday to inaugurate developmental projects worth over Rs 3,000 crore.</p>.<p>Among the projects is the inauguration of the Astol project that promises to supply tap water to the tribal population in as many as 174 villages and 1,028 hamlets located sparsely on the hills in Valsad district.</p>.<p>Modi will also address a mass gathering of tribals at ‘Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’ to be held at Kudvel village in Navsari district. People from all neighbouring districts—including Dang, Tapi and Valsad—are expected to participate at this event. The PM’s visit—fourth such in the past four months—to his home state becomes more significant in view of the recent large-scale protests against the Narmada-Par-Tapi river linking project announced by the state government.</p>.<p>With the Gujarat Assembly election scheduled for December, the protest forced the Bhupendra Patel-led BJP government to cancel the river linking project; but the damage is said to have been done.</p>.<p>The PM’s visit is speculated to be an attempt to placate the locals who have been traditionally voting for the Congress. In 2017 polls, Congress outperformed BJP by winning 15 out of 27 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes—majority of those seats come in Gujarat’s south and neighbouring central districts—while BJP could win only nine seats. There are nearly ten more Assembly seats where tribal voters could sway the results.</p>.<p>For the past several months, the BJP has been focusing on tribal voters—Prime Minister and his Union home minister Amit Shah have been leading the outreach programme from the front. In April, Modi and Shah visited Dahod and Godhra, respectively, in central Gujarat and inaugurated development works and addressed public meetings. The BJP is also said to be worried about Narmada and Bharuch districts—the Bharatiya Tribal Party, led by Chhotubhai Vasava, which won two seats in the 2017 elections has now aligned with the Aam Aadmi Party.</p>.<p>In 2017, the BJP managed to pull off the majority—with just 99 seats out of 182—but had its worst tally in 27 years of uninterrupted rule. This time, the political scene is a bit different, especially in the south Gujarat region. BJP’s state president C R Paatil, from south Gujarat's Surat district, is at the helm of affairs and is known for meticulously strategising the elections.</p>.<p>However, despite the measures it’s a long road ahead for the BJP. A party insider said that the protest over the Narmada-Par-Tapi river linking project could impact the party's fortune in the elections. “Paatil saheb knew that it was a big blow and hence had rushed to Delhi to get it (the river linking project) postponed and eventually got it cancelled. Besides, there are issues of unemployment among the tribal youth and the BTP-AAP alliance may (also) have some impact,” a BJP insider said.</p>
