Haryana: PM Modi to launch poll campaign

Haryana: PM Modi to launch poll campaignPrime Minister Narendra Modi will launch an election campaign for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday in poll-bound Haryana with green mode.

He will address the public in Rohtak town, the only Lok Sabha seat in the state which was won by the Congress in the 2014 elections, on the conclusion of the state BJP's 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra'.

The Yatra was flagged off by Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Kalka town, some 20 km from Chandigarh, on August 18. It is culminating in Rohtak after passing through the state's 90 Assembly seats.

The BJP's state election-in-charge and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Cabinet colleagues will attend the Modi's maiden rally.

The district administration and the party have made special arrangements to make Modi's rally green.

For this, the administration has appealed to the public not to bring plastic mineral water bottles at the rally venue.

The administration is installing around 4,000 earthen pots.

Likewise, the BJP is installing welcome hoardings made from paper and cloth to minimize the impact of plastic.

The Election Commission is yet to announce the election dates, but the BJP has almost completed its first phase of campaigns in the state.

Party chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already toured the state twice and addressed rallies.

Khattar has told the media that the elections in the state are likely to be held around October 15 and the code of conduct will come into force anytime by September 15.

The ruling BJP in Haryana seems confident of winning the next Assembly elections on the basis of its performance and also because the most opposition parties in the state are in disarray.

While the main opposition -- the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) -- has been reduced to a minority as most of its legislators and leaders have joined the BJP, infighting continues to dog the Congress, which ruled the state for two consecutive terms till 2014.

The Congress this week appointed Kumari Selja as the new state unit chief replacing Ashok Tanwar, while making former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda Chairman of the Election Committee.

Khattar's slogan 'Mission 75' has got louder after the party's stellar performance in the last Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP won all the 10 seats -- a first in state's electoral history.

He is the first BJP Chief Minister of the state, which was formed on November 1, 1966, and aims at improving the party's tally in the Assembly from 48 legislators.