Soumayashree Mishra 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday that Gujarat’s Assembly elections will determine where the state will be in the next 25 years. On Sunday, the Prime Minister told a public rally in Gujarat’s Botad district that voters would shape the state’s destiny in the coming years. During his 30-minute-long speech in Gujarati, the Prime Minister exhorted people to vote the BJP back to power in the western state, saying, “This election will determine what Gujarat looks like in the next 25 years.” The Prime Minister’s visit to the Botad district was part of a busy campaign schedule on Sunday.
He did, however, pay a visit to the Somnath temple earlier on Sunday and offer prayers. Later, at a separate public rally in Dhorarji, the Prime Minister slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his photo with social activist Medha Patkar on the sidelines of the ongoing ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Maharashtra. “You would have seen a picture published in the newspaper of a Congress leader standing with those who oppose the Narmada Project,” the PM said, without naming Rahul. You should ask them with what face they are approaching you to solicit votes.
The state has long been a BJP stronghold, and the party has set its sights on regaining power with a sizable majority this time around. The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has named Isudan Gadhvi as its chief ministerial candidate, will mount a strong electoral challenge. The Congress Party is also hoping to use the election to unseat the BJP government.
