Devaliya (Gujarat): BJP president was accorded warm welcome in traditional tribal way in Devaliya village of Chhota Udepur district in Central Gujarat where he had arrived today to participate in a booth level Vistarak programme of the ruling party.

He also had lunch at the house of a common tribal man Popatbhai Rathwa. Rathwa family had cooked Udad dhebra, dal, bhat, makai na rotla(bread of corn-flour), bajri na rotla, Bhinda na Shak (vegetable of okra), lapsi(a kind of porridge cooked on auspicious occasions), kathol tuver na bakhra for Shah. BJP state-in charge Bhupendra Yadav, state president Jeetu Vaghani and state general secretaries Bhikhu Dalsania, Bharat Parmar, minister Shabdsaran Tadvi, MP Ramsih Rathva and other party leaders and activists were also present on the occasion.

Shah was earlier welcomed by handing over Bow and Arrow amid traditional dance and high pitch drum beats by the local tribal community.

He also participated in the Vistarak Karyakram of the party, which was meant to apprise people up to booth level about the good works of the BJP government at center and in the state to further strengthen the party at the grass roots.

Addressing the locals and party workers Shah termed them as the ‘soul’ of the party organization.

‘In no other party except for BJP, you can see leaders from national to state to district to taluka levels, coming for a group of just 50 activists of a small village,’ he said adding that it shows how much importance the party give to the workers. He said that workers were the soul of the party organization and booth was the life-force or prana of it.

He said that the way PM Narendra Modi was functioning, has increased the honour of the country in the world. He has emerged at the most popular leader. Indian visitors in foreign countries were looked upon with respect and were often asked whether they have come from Modi’s country.

Shah also held a meeting with sadhu/saints at Bodeli.

Five out of six taluka panchayats in Chhota Udepur are with Congress while one had tie between BJP and Congress. Even district panchayat is with Congress. The senior most MLA of Congress Party Mohansinh Rathwa is elected from Chhota Udepur. In 2014 Lok Sabha election, BJP won all 26 seats in Gujarat. If Lok Sabha results are translated into assembly constituencies, there were 17 out of total 182 assembly seats where BJP got lesser votes compared to Congress. Chhota Udepur was one of those 17 seats.

Notably, Shah who arrived Ahmedabad last evening, would also address a gathering of of intellectuals at Sayaji Nagar Gruh hall in Vadodara in the evening.

He had held a meeting of the party at circuit house annexe in Ahmedabad last evening in which CM Vijay Rupani, Dy CM Nitin Patel had also participated. Vaghani later informed that organizational issues were discussed during the meeting.

Gujarat will see assembly polls later this year.

DeshGujarat