Panchayat elections are yet to be announced in Rajasthan, but the BJP has already started strengthening its village outreach through the Gram Rath Abhiyan launched on April 28.
To reach nearly 14,000 panchayats, the party has deployed 183 Gram Raths under the leadership of the Chief Minister and ministers. BJP has traditionally been considered weak in rural Rajasthan, where Congress enjoys stronger support, and the campaign is aimed at breaking into this vote bank ahead of the panchayat polls.
Around 350 BJP leaders and workers have been assigned campaign duties, with one worker in charge of each chariot. CM Bhajanlal Sharma has also held ‘Ratri Gram Chaupal’ meetings in four assembly constituencies so far.
The CM also informally meets people during his morning walk in the village the day after the ‘Ratri Chaupal’ (night gathering).
Agritech Meet will also be organised
In each assembly constituency, one chariot covers three Gram Panchayats in 24 hours. Government schemes are promoted through the LED screen on the chariot. Also, a ‘Ratri Chaupal’ (night gathering) is organized in the Gram Panchayat where the chariot arrives at night.
CM Bhajanlal Sharma has stayed in four villages so far. He also goes for morning walks in the village and talks directly with the villagers.
Now, the government will organize a three-day Global Rajasthan Agritech Meet (GRAM) from May 23 to 25.
Ministers have also been given a target of holding 10 village development meetings (chaupals). Deputy CM Diya Kumari has also participated in village chaupals at several places.
Target for ministers to hold 10 village chaupals
In view of the campaign, ministers have also been given a target of holding 10 village chaupals. In these, they are directly interacting with the villagers. Ministers have to hold 4 village chaupals in their assembly constituency and 6 in the district they are in charge of.
In such a situation, all the ministers of the state are engaged in fulfilling this target. The government and the organization believe that if there is direct communication between the government and the organization with the rural public, their problems will be solved quickly.
At the same time, a positive atmosphere will be created in favor of the party. The party will benefit from this in the coming time.
The girls of Jajod village in Khandela assembly constituency had demanded the CM to open a science stream in their school at night. By morning, the girls’ demand was fulfilled.
Benefits of schemes are being provided door-to-door
In fact, in whichever Gram Panchayat the CM and big leaders are visiting, before that, the administration is going door-to-door to connect people deprived of government schemes with the schemes.
A program for the CM’s night meeting (chaupal) is scheduled in a village. The administration’s team is going door-to-door there, starting people’s stalled pensions.
Individuals who are eligible for various government schemes but have not been able to join them for some reason until now are being immediately connected to government schemes.
Responsibility of divisional in-charge to 30 leaders
Mukesh Dadhich, the BJP’s state coordinator for the campaign, said around 350 leaders and workers have been deployed to make the Gram Rath Abhiyan successful.
Each of the 183 chariots has been assigned to one worker, while separate in-charges have been appointed for every assembly constituency. Around 30 leaders have also been made divisional in-charges to oversee the campaign.
Dadhich said the party has so far reached nearly 8,000 panchayats and aims to cover all gram panchayats within the stipulated time. He added that the campaign’s impact can be gauged from the fact that the governments of Haryana, Uttarakhand, and another state have sought details about it.
