Rally, roadshow on BJP's menu for Himachal Pradesh polls

The BJP has chosen to bank big on Modi's campaign in the state and not project any state leader in a big way

A rally, a roadshow and reaching out to beneficiaries of the central government schemes is what Prime Minister Narendra Modi will engage in during his visit to poll-bound Himachal Pradesh, the home state of BJP chief J P Nadda.

The BJP, which has changed Chief Ministers in a number of states including Gujarat, Uttarakhand and Tripura before their state polls, has given up the idea of replacing Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, and is instead focusing its campaign around Prime Minister Narendra Modi's face with the CM face receding in the background.

As such, the choice of Shimla for the Modi rally on May 31 to mark the eighth anniversary of the NDA government at the Centre is simply a coincidence, as the party tries to retain power in the switch state, where BJP is split wide open among multiple factions.

Interestingly, while the BJP is not betting big on incumbent Chief Minister, Congress has once again fallen back on Virbhadra Singh's legacy and is projecting Pratibha Singh, the wife of the late leader by making her the head of the faction-ridden state unit last month. Her husband was the tallest Congress leader in the state had in the last two Assembly polls. While naming Singh as party state chief, Congress has done a delicate balancing act, giving important positions to other faction leaders as well.

BJP, on the other hand, has chosen to bank big on Modi's campaign in the state and not project any state leader in a big way to ensure minimum heartburn in its state unit before the polls. With the party eyeing strengthening its beneficiary base along with booth workers, Modi will not only hold a roadshow in Shimla and address a rally, he will also hold a virtual interaction with the beneficiaries of 17 government schemes from across the country, which will be webcast.

The Prime Minister, who had earlier visited the state in December last year to address a rally in the Chief Minister's home district Mandi on the fourth anniversary of the state government, is slated to address a mega event of states' chief secretaries in June in Dharamshala.

On Friday, Nadda and BJP's national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh huddled with BJP leaders and Union Ministers from ST community, which has a sizable presence in the state. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda also attended the meeting.

The idea is to keep the focus on the party-ruled state, which neighbours UP, Haryana (both BJP-ruled and Punjab (ruled by AAP). Buoyant after the Punjab victory, AAP is seeking to make the contest triangular in the hill state, which has traditionally seen a BJP versus Congress power shift.

On Tuesday, when Modi will interact with beneficiaries of central government schemes, he will also release the 11th installment of the Kisan Samman Nidhi amounting to more than Rs 21,000 crore. The event, 'Garib Kalyan Sammelan', which will see Modi interacting with beneficiaries from a large number of districts, including most from Himachal Pradesh, is apparently aimed at highlighting the people-centric approach of Modi model. On Saturday, the state government took a key decision to enhance the daily honorarium of home guards by Rs 208, a move which is also being showcased by the BJP as 'sensitive to the poor' measure.