Nadda will launch the BJP’s Second Parivartan Yatra in Chhattisgarh, which is nearing elections

The BJP will launch its second “Parivartan Yatra” from the northern part of Chhattisgarh on Friday, stepping up its opposition to the in-power Congress ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. The first “Parivartan Yatra” began three days earlier from the southern part of the state.

After praying at the Balaji temple in Jashpur town, BJP national president JP Nadda will lead the Parivartan Yatra (March of Change) from the Jashpur district, a party official said.

According to the party’s state spokesman Nalineesh Thokne, the BJP president would fly in a helicopter at 10:10 am from Ranchi’s Birsa Munda airport in neighboring Jharkhand and arrive at the Police Ground helipad in Jashpur at 11 am.

At noon, Nadda will perform rites at the Balaji temple in Jashpur before addressing a crowd at the Ranjita stadium grounds and signaling the start of the yatra.

The yatra begins a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at a ‘Vijay Sankhnad’ rally in Raigarh district. In his speech, he criticized the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress administration in the state, claiming it was behind in promoting the welfare of the underprivileged while leading the way in corruption.

Chhattisgarh is scheduled to hold assembly elections in November.

The BJP launched its first Parivartan Yatra on September 12 in the Dantewada district. Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, was supposed to officially launch the first yatra, but party leaders claimed that he was unable to do so due to an urgent matter.

According to Thokne, the BJP has been employing a high-tech bus for the inaugural Parivartan Yatra that it had utilized for its ‘Vikas Yatra’ in the state before to the 2018 assembly elections while it was in power.

For the second yatra, he said, a similar high-tech bus outfitted with CCTV cameras, an LED screen, a hydraulic lift, and a platform on the roof to address crowds has been planned.

Modi, Nadda, state party chief Arun Sao, former chief minister Raman Singh, leader of the opposition in the assembly Narayan Chandel, and three women leaders—Union minister Renuka Singh and BJP national vice presidents Saroj Pandey and Lata Usendi—are all depicted on the bus, which is painted in a striking saffron color with blue and green stripes at the bottom.

It prominently features the image of the “Chhattisgarh Mahtari” (mother) over a map of the state and also has background photos of the previous prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The Parivartan Yatras are intended to increase public awareness and reveal the “corruption” of the Congress government, according to Om Mathur, the BJP’s state in-charge.

He had said that the yatras will write a new chapter in Chhattisgarh history and that the public would also learn about the public welfare programs of the Modi administration at the Centre.

In 16 days, the first yatra will travel 1,728 kilometers to the divisions of Bastar, Durg, and Raipur, while the second yatra will travel 1,261 km to the divisions of Bilaspur and Surguja in 13 days.

Both Yatras will end in Bilaspur on the same day, having together traveled 2,989 km over 87 assembly segments (out of a total 90), with 84 public meetings, 85 “swagat sabhas” (welcome gatherings), and seven road performances. PM Modi is anticipated to attend the closing event on September 28, according to party officials.

The BJP, which had been in power in Chhattisgarh under Raman Singh for 15 years, suffered a devastating setback in the 2018 assembly elections at the hands of the Congress. The BJP only won 15 seats, while the Congress won 68.

Even though the EC has yet to finalise the timetable for the forthcoming assembly elections, scheduled for later this year, the saffron party revealed its first list of candidates for the 21 seats it had lost to Congress in the most recent polls last month.