BJP’s national leadership blaze campaign trail for Maha polls, Cong top brass MIA

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah have been participating in rallies, conducting public meetings in the state in

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah have been participating in rallies, conducting public meetings in the state in the run-up to the October 21 Assembly polls. However, even as the assembly elections is less than two weeks away, the top leadership of the Congress is yet to hit the campaign trail in the state where it aspires to wrest power from the BJP.

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The Congress has handed over the responsibility to Mallikarjun Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia. While Kharage did visit Maharashtra, Scindia has not been active in the campaigning process, said local political observers.

Prithviraj Chavan, former chief minister, said, “The role of the central leadership is that of an umpire or a guide. The leadership has been guiding the Maharashtra unit and everything has been going smoothly. The central leadership need not interfere as there has been no infighting among the leaders regarding the distribution of the tickets. Kharge, Scindia and other leaders are involved in various meetings and discussions.”

Local political observers have pointed out that the BJP central leadership is actively involved in the Maharashtra Assembly polls. Shah has visited the state on a couple of occasions and prime minister Modi has conducted various meetings with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and party’s state unit chief Chandrakant Patil. On the other hand, the Congress leadership has been missing in action.

According to Patil, the prime minister will address nine public rallies in the state including Satara and Pune.