The 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' trip will end in the temple town of Pushkar on September 30.
BJP president Amit Shah today flagged off Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's pre-poll tour 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' from the Charbhujanath temple in Rajsamand district. The 58-day tour is aimed at seeking people's mandate in the Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.
Ms Raje and the BJP President offered prayers at the temple before the chief minister boarded the specially designed bus with the party president.
The Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra will roll through 165 assembly constituencies of the state which goes to the polls later this year. The chief minister will cover Udaipur, Bharatpur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Jaipur and Ajmer divisions till the end of September. The 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra' trip will end in the temple town of Pushkar on September 30.
Vasundhara Raje will be accompanied by Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria and MLA Ashok Parnami during her 40-day yatra. She will take rest on the remaining 18 days.
Here are the highlights of Vasundhra Raje's Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra:
Rahul baba if you know counting then count, I don't know Italian else I would have told you in Italian how much we have given to public. Modi Govt. has brought 116 schemes for Rajasthan and still Congress asks what has BJP done?: BJP President Amit Shah in Rajsamand
Vasundhara Raje and Amit Shah at the event
BJP president Amit Shah has flagged off the 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra'
Members of the Gujjar community are the priests at Charbhuja Temple
The Congress has alleged that huge amount of tax payers' money is being spent on the yatra.
Vasundhara Raje has always started her election campaign from Charbhuja temple
The tour will be flagged off from the Chaarbhuja Mandir, a lord Krishna temple in Rajasamand.
Since she became Chief Minister for the first time 18 years ago, Vasundhara Raje, 65, has always started her election campaign from Charbhuja temple.
"This place is linked to the ethos of the Mewar region. It is associated with valour, history and devotion. That's why Vasundhara ji comes here," her cabinet Arun Chaturvedi , who is overseeing the preprations for the long tour, said.
The Charbhuja temple is the only temple in Rajasthan where the traditionally cattle-rearing community of Gujjars are the priests.
The rath is essentially a modified Leyland 407 bus, replete with air conditioning, a bathroom and an elevator. A sunroof allows the Chief Minister to address public meetings from the bus itself. The roof opens up and allows her to come on top of the bus, creating a mini stand.
Renaming of Vasundhra Raje's yatra an example of BJP's "intellectual bankruptcy", says former leader
State president of the newly formed Bharat Vahini Party Ghanshyam Tiwari has claimed that the renaming of Vasundhra Raje's yatra as Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra was an example of BJP's "intellectual bankruptcy".
The former BJP leader claimed that the ruling party has "stolen" the nomenclature from his organisation.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the yatra, officials said. Hoardings and cutouts of the party president and the chief minister have also come up in several places.
The yatra will cover the state's all seven divisions of Udaipur, Bharatpur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota, Jaipur and Ajmer.
Gulab Chand Kataria, who is the yatra convenor, said national-level BJP leaders will hold meetings at the constituencies not covered under the yatra.
The BJP has already named Vasundhara Raje as its chief ministerial candidate in the coming assembly elections, and claimed it will win over 180 of the 200 seats.
"The yatra will highlight public welfare work done by the government," BJP state president Madan Saini told reporters.
Vasundhara Raje tweeted schedule of the yatra for today