PM's poll campaign to start from today

Jaipur: Six months before assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will tomorrow kick start poll campaign in Rajasthan’ a state considered weakest link in his quest for retaining power in 2019.

Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to be held in December are considered semi-final as they are held just six months before the general elections. With setbacks in several by-elections since Modi wave in 2014 and impressive victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections last year, it is crucial for the BJP to retain power in these three states in Hindi heartland. It is here that the party reaped maximum reward apart from UP and the PM’s home state of Gujarat. Of the three states, Rajasthan is the one where the BJP bagged all the seats on offer. But, again the party has suffered huge electoral losses under chief minister Vasundhara Raje who is like Mr. Modi considered a charismatic leader. The biggest setback came in February this year when the party lost by-polls on two Lok Sabha and one assembly constituencies. It trailed in all 17 assembly segments in rural as well as in urban areas, which is considered its forte. The state has a history of rewarding BJP in power in LS elections too.