Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Raipur on Wednesday evening to hold meetings with state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to the Chhattisgarh.
Shah landed at Swami Vivekananda Airport here in a special flight shortly before 7 pm and went to Kushabhau Thakre Parisar, BJP's state headquarter.
Chhattisgarh BJP chief Arun Sao, former chief minister Raman Singh, party's state vice president Shivratan Sharma, party MPs and MLAs welcomed Shah at the airport.
"Shah is chairing a closed-door meeting with senior party leaders, core group members, MPs, MLAs in the state from 8 pm to 10 pm in Kushabhau Thakre Parisar in the run up to the assembly elections due this year end," a party leader here said.
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After his overnight stay here, Shah will hold talks with local leaders on Thursday morning before leaving for Delhi at 10.45 am, he said.
After being in power for 15 years (2003-2018) under the leadership of Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh, the BJP suffered a massive defeat in the 2018 assembly elections at the hands of Congress and now it is looking to retain the state.
According to BJP leaders, Shah's meeting with local leaders who are gearing up for the Assembly polls would be crucial to devise the poll strategy.
They also termed the meeting as crucial in view of PM Modi's visit on July 7 in Raipur. The prime minister will lay the foundation stone and dedicate multiple projects during his visit and also address a public meeting.
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It will be Modi's first visit to the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh after being elected as PM for the second term in 2019.
-With PTI Input
