PM Modi to spearhead Gujarat campaign from November 18

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Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will spearhead the BJP campaign for the Gujarat elections from around November 18, BJP sources said on Wednesday.

Elections to Gujarat's 182-seat Assembly will be held on December 9 and 14.

Modi is set to address one big rally in each of the 32 districts of Gujarat and start campaigning around November 18, once the Bharatiya Janata Party finalises its candidates for the first phase of elections.

The sources said the Prime Minister will also hold roadshows in major cities of the state. 

Modi has visited Gujarat almost 10 times in months ahead of the polls to attend various government events, including completion of the Narmada Dam, laying foundation stone of the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai bullet train project and inauguration of a ferry service linking south Gujarat and Saurashtra region via sea routes.

The sources said the party was likely to finalise its candidates for 89 seats in first phase on Thursday after Central Election Committee meeting on Wednesday in Delhi. The party is likely to announce their names on November 17, a day before PM Modi's visit to the state.

The BJP Media Centre has prepared an 'Election Chariot' which will travel in all four zones of the state - north, central, south, and Saurashtra-Kutch regions and make public aware of development in the state through traditional folksongs. 

The chariot was flagged off by party's national general secretary Anil Jain and Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.