Party leaders said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mangarh Dham in Rajasthan’s Banswara district next week would help the BJP in neighboring Gujarat and the state assembly elections next year, especially in wooing the tribal community. Mangarh Dham, a memorial to about 1,500 tribals killed by British forces in 1913, is located on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border in the district, an area with a large tribal population. Elections in Gujarat, the dates of which are yet to be announced, are due in two months.
The Congress government in Rajasthan is demanding that the Dham be declared a monument of national importance, in a recent meeting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that he has written twice to Prime Minister Modi about the status of the monument. Gehlot had said that it would be a ‘true’ tribute to Govind Guru. In 1913, the meeting of tribals and forest dwellers against the British Raj in Mangarh was led by social reformer Govind Guru.
BJP Rajasthan president Satish Poonia said people from the tribal community in the state would participate in the event in large numbers and claimed that Modi is likely to make “some announcements”. BJP leaders said that not only in Gujarat, the November 1 event could also boost the party’s popularity among the community in Madhya Pradesh, where elections are due next year in the desert state and has a large tribal population.
A BJP leader said the prime minister’s visit to the tribal area would give a boost to the party, while a party colleague claimed it would affect the assembly constituencies in northern parts of Gujarat where elections are due. “The assembly elections in Rajasthan are due by the end of next year and the visit of the prime minister will definitely give a boost to the party in the tribal region,” the leader said.
Union Minister of State for Culture and senior BJP leader from Rajasthan Arjun Ram Meghwal told PTI that the event is being organized to pay respect to the unsung heroes.
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