Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 30: Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister and a top BJP leader, will address two public rallies in poll-bound Goa on Sunday, as well as a door-to-door campaign in Sanvordem and the opening of the umbrella campaign in Vasco-Da-Gama.
Since the Election Commission of India (ECI) released the vote calendar for the Assembly elections in five states earlier this month, Shah’s day-long engagements would be the first time any Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) star campaigner will address a public assembly in the coastal state.
Shah will visit the Sai Baba Temple in Borim at 2.45 p.m., followed by a public rally at the Sun Grace Garden in Ponda at 3.30 p.m., according to an itinerary published by Shah’s office on Twitter.
On Saturday, BJP’s Goa unit chief Sadanand Shet Tanavade said all the three public meetings of Shah will take place indoors with 50 per cent seating capacity and all protocols pertaining to Covid-19 will be in place. He added the Union minister’s Vasco rally will be live streamed in 10 different Assembly constituencies simultaneously.
After that, he’ll walk door-to-door in Sanvordem at 5 p.m., then speak at a public gathering at the town’s Sharda Mandir Multipurpose Hall. In Vasco, his day-long journey will come to a close with a town hall meeting and the beginning of the umbrella campaign.
Sadanand Shet Tanavade, the BJP’s Goa unit head, said on Saturday that all three of Shah’s public meetings will be held indoors with a 50% seating capacity and that all Covid-19 regulations will be followed. He went on to say that the Union minister’s Vasco rally will be televised live in ten different Assembly constituencies at the same time.
Notably, the ECI last week extended its ban on physical rallies and roadshows in all poll-bound states until January 31. However, in the seats where the first phase of the election will take held, relaxations have been granted for public meetings with a maximum attendance of 500 persons. Indoor gatherings with a maximum of 300 people, or 50% of the venue’s capacity, are also permitted.