Gujarat BJP puts up united face with Rajkot roadshow

On the last day of the year, the Gujarat BJP held a grand roadshow and public meeting in Rajkot as the culminating event for its 'Good Governance Week' programmes.

The public meeting on Friday was attended by chief minister Bhupendra Patel, former CM Vijay Rupani, BJP state president CR Patil and former Karnataka governor Vaju Bala.

The event entailed a three-kilometre-long roadshow that started from the Rajkot airport and ended at Dharmedrasinhji College where the public meeting was held.


The event assumed significance on the face of assembly elections due later in 2022 and the state BJP chief's pronounced target of winning all the 182 seats.

Apart from Patil and Patel, several state ministers including Harsh Sanghavi, Arjunsinh Chauhan, Brijesh Merja and Arvind Raiyani participated in the roadshow that comprised around 50 cars and 1,000 motorcyclists, apart from several vintage cars.

Rajkot has traditionally been one of the most formidable citadels of the BJP in Gujarat. However, the impact of the second wave of the pandemic across Saurashtra and the unceremonious ouster of Saurashtra heavyweight Rupani from the chief minister's position had reportedly led to some disquiet in the region. While Saurashtra region, though politically volatile, remains extremely crucial in the electoral calculations of Gujarat, the muscle-flexing of the ruling party on the last day of the year is being seen as a move to reinforce the support base across Saurashtra.

By bringing in CR Patil, Bhupendra Patel, Rupani and Vaju Bala on the same stage, the BJP also for the time being silenced speculations of fissures within the party.