Ahmedabad, September 07: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was BJP’s star campaigner in the last Lok Sabha polls, is conspicuously missing from the election campaign in seven Assembly seats where by-polls are scheduled on September 10.
Campaigning for the by-polls will be over by tomorrow evening, but so far Modi has not addressed any public meeting or visited any of the seven segments.
“CM has decided not to campaign in the by-polls as local leaders are managing the election affairs,” a close aide of Modi said.
“BJP has deputed ministers, party MPs, MLAs and other leaders to campaign in the by-polls for the seven Assembly segments,” state BJP president Purushottam Rupala said, adding that Modi had held a meeting with the local leaders of the respective constituencies.
Interestingly, six of the seven Assembly segments going to the by-polls were held by the Congress, while one seat was with the BJP.
The seven segments are Kodinar, Jasdan, Dhoraji and Chotila in Saurashtra and Dehgam, Sami and Danta in North Gujarat.
The saffron party, which has seen drubbing in the Junagadh Municipal elections and unfavourable results in the last Lok Sabha polls in the state, has so far not made any claim regarding the seats it would win.
“We will not get into number games but I can say that we will win more seats than one which was held by us,” a senior BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, the Congress has contended that since situation is not favourable for the ruling party, Modi is not campaigning in the by-polls.
“Modi knows it very well that party’s prospects are not bright in these by-polls therefore he is avoiding direct involvement in the campaigning,” leader of opposition Shaktisinh Gohil alleged.
—Agencies