Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan
The BJP will launch the Sant Ravidas Samarasta Yatra in an effort to increase the 16% Dalit vote in Madhya Pradesh less than four months before the state holds elections. The Yatra is for the building temple in honour of the poet-saint from the 14th century.
The yatra will start at Singrauli, Dhar, Sheopur, Balaghat, and Neemuch, and it will pass through 46 of the state’s 52 districts. On August 12, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation for the $100 million Sant Ravidas Temple in Badtuma, Sagar district.
In Madhya Pradesh, where there are 230 seats, 35 of them are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Dalits make up 16% of the population. The majority of these districts are located in the Vindhya, Bundelkhand, and Gwalior-Chambal regions.
The BJP won a total of 165 seats in the 2013 elections, including 28 out of 35 seats in SC category. The Bahujan Samaj Party took home three victories, while the Congress only managed to gain four. But in 2018, the Congress’ share more than doubled to 17, while the BJP only won 18 of the 35 reserved seats.
PM Modi will make his fifth trip to the election bound state in as many months when he visits Madhya Pradesh for the foundation-laying ceremony.
There are 20–25% Dalits in the Sagar district of Bundelkhand, where the temple’s foundation ceremony will take place. A day following the event, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge is anticipated to address a rally in the district.
The yatra, which is being organised by the Jan Abhiyan Parishad of the Madhya Pradesh government, will gather soil from 55,000 villages in the state which will be used in the temple’s foundation and construction.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister, had declared the yatra in February, and the chariots used for it will bear the saint’s picture, his paduka (shoes), and his kalash (pitcher). The walls of the chariots will also be painted with pro-social harmony slogans.
Plaques bearing the saint’s teachings and messages will be present in Badtuma’s 100 crore Sant Ravidas Temple and Art Museum. A library will also be located in the complex.
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