Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi In Poll-Bound Chhattisgarh As Congress, BJP Faceoff To Woo Voters

While Shah will attend two engagements, one in Raipur and the other in Saraipali, Mahasamund district, Gandhi will speak at a Rajiv Yuva Mitan Club event in Nava Raipur.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will address public gatherings in Chhattisgarh today, news agency PTI reported. It will be the first time that activities of the two top leaders overlap on the same day in the Congress-ruled state, ahead of the assembly polls scheduled by the end of the year. While Shah will attend two engagements, one in Raipur and the other in Saraipali, Mahasamund district, Gandhi will speak at a Rajiv Yuva Mitan Club event in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh's prospective new capital city.

Shah is expected to arrive in the state late Friday evening for a two-day tour, according to a BJP official.

Following his arrival, he is due to meet with BJP leaders at Kushabhau Thakre Parisar, the party's state headquarters in Raipur.

According to a party functionary, Shah would issue a 'Aarop Patra' (charge sheet) against the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress administration at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Raipur.

He would next travel to Khairmal village in the Saraipali district to participate in a 'abhinandan' session hosted by tribal organisations. He also stated that he will speak during the occasion.

After 15 years in power in Chhattisgarh under Raman Singh's leadership, the BJP suffered a major setback in the 2018 assembly elections at the hands of the Congress and is now attempting to reclaim control of the state.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi will speak at the state-level convention of the Rajiv Yuva Mitan Club, which is part of the state's sports and youth welfare department, at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the 'Rajyotsav Mela Sthal,' an official said. On Friday, he was in Mumbai for a meeting of the opposition INDIA alliance.

It would be Gandhi's first visit to the election-bound state since the Congress convened its annual meeting in Raipur in February. The occasion will be attended by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

The Congress won 68 of the state's 90 seats in the 2018 assembly elections, while the BJP ended a distant second with 15. The JCC (J) gained five seats, while its ally, the BSP, won two. The House of Representatives presently has 71 members.