PM Modi to address BJP`s SC-ST members in poll-bound Gujarat on Thursday

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) members of the BJP in poll-bound Gujarat on Thursday.

He will also listen to their concerns on Cyclone Ockhi.

PM Modi will connect with the party workers on their mobile phones through the "audio bridge" technology and directly interact with the divisional heads of the party's SC and ST units in the state.

About 10,000 workers of the party would directly attend PM Modi's call, the BJP said in a statement, PTI reported.

The 182-member Gujarat Assembly will go to the polls in two phases - on December 9 and 14 - and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 18. 

The high-octane campaign for the first phase of polls is scheduled to come to an end on Thursday.

In 2007, the tally of the BJP and the Congress in Saurashtra and Kutch stood at 43 and 14 respectively, while the NCP had bagged one seat.

Of the 35 seats spread across the seven districts of south Gujarat, the BJP had won 28 and the Congress six in the 2012 polls. 

The 2009 tally for the BJP and the Congress stood at 19 and 14 seats respectively in south Gujarat.

Prominent candidates in the fray for the Saturday battle include Rupani, who is contesting from Rajkot (West) against the Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru, Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi) and Paresh Dhanani (Amreli) - both from the Congress.

Rajput strongman Gohil has locked horns with the BJP's new face, Virendrasinh Jadeja, also a Rajput, in the Muslim-dominated seat.

In Patidar-dominated Amreli, Dhanani (the sitting Congress MLA) is pitted against BJP heavyweight Bavkubhai Undhad, the legislator from the nearby Lathi seat.

(With PTI inputs)