Bhopal, Apr 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- the star campaigner of the ruling BJP, will kick-start the party's campaign for Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, by addressing his first public rally in Jabalpur, subsequent to a roadshow in the city later on Sunday evening.

More than 3000 policemen under the supervision of over a dozen IPS officers have been deployed at the roadshow venue PM Modi will participate to seek support from voters for BJP’s debutant Lok Sabha candidate from Jabalpur, Ashish Dube.

Security has been strengthened hours before the PM’s visit as a 15 km surrounding area from the roadshow venue has been declared no-fly zone till 8 p.m. on Sunday. One km long stretch earmarked for the roadshow has been decorated with lights and flowers.

Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is also in charge of the Mahakaushal Lok Sabha cluster in Madhya Pradesh, along with his cabinet colleague and four-time MP from Jabalpur, Rakesh Singh, distributed ‘akshat’ (grain of rice mixed with turmeric and flowers) to the locals and invited them to welcome PM Modi at their doorstep.

Three of the six Lok Sabha constituencies of Madhya Pradesh to be polled on April 19 are from the Mahakaushal cluster -- Chhindwara, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Shahdol, Sidhi and Mandla.

PWD minister Rakesh Singh, who took over Jabalpur Lok Sabha constituency from BJP’s stalwart and former MP Jayashree Banerjee in 2004, won four consecutive elections maintaining the party’s victory trail in Jabalpur since 1996. Banerjee, an old alumni of Allahabad University and Jana Sangh-era politician, is the mother-in-law of BJP President JP Nadda.

Rakesh Singh defeated senior lawyer and Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP, Vivek Tankha twice in 2014 and 2019. He also headed the MP BJP unit during the state assembly elections in 2018. This time the BJP has made Ashish Dube its candidate against Congress’ Dinesh Yadav.

(IANS)

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