'I've Made This Gujarat': PM Modi Launches New Election Slogan In Gujarati

PM Modi In Kaprada: PM Modi's visit to his home state today is his first since the Gujarat assembly elections schedule was released by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a new election slogan in Gujarati - 'I have made this Gujarat,' while addressing a public gathering in poll-bound Gujarat's Kaprada village in Valsad district on Sunday.

During his 25-minute speech, the PM said, "Aa Gujarat, mai bnavyu chhe" (I have made this Gujarat), and made people chant it several times, the news agency PTI reported. 

PM Modi's visit to his home state today is his first since the Gujarat assembly elections schedule was released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). 

He also stated that "Gujarat will sweep away divisive forces that have spent the last 20 years defaming the state," according to the news agency PTI.

"Those divisive forces that have indulged in spreading hatred, those who have tried to defame and insult Gujarat have been swept out of Gujarat. In this election also they will meet the same fate," he said.

"Sitting in Delhi, I am getting the inputs that BJP will win with a record margin this time in Gujarat. I have come here to beat my past records (of BJP's victory margin). I have told the Gujarat BJP that I am ready to give as much time as possible to you (for campaigning)," PTI quoted PM as saying. 

Later, at 5:45 p.m., he will arrive in Bhavnagar to join the 'Papa Ni Pari' Lagnotsav 2022 mass marriage event.

During the event, 552 girls who do not have fathers will get married.

The election will be held in two phases in the state, with the first phase consisting of 89 assembly constituencies voting on December 1 and the second phase consisting of 93 assembly constituencies voting on December 5, with votes being counted on December 8 and the entire process being completed by December 10.

In Gujarat, the BJP has won six straight assembly elections. The Congress is eager to make a selection of candidates early in order to give them more time to campaign, and it is hoping to boost its campaign through yatras.

In contrast to past elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting the race with full force this year, led by Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National leader Arvind Kejriwal, making it a triangular struggle.

The ABP-CVoter Opinion Poll forecasts a seventh straight term for the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat, with a margin of 135 to 143 seats, an increase of 40 seats.

Meanwhile, the Congress party, which won 77 seats in the 2017 elections, is anticipated to be reduced to 36 to 44 seats in the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly elections in 2022. With a single seat projected in the next elections, the debutant AAP may struggle to create a grip on the BJP's territory.