Aim to win all 182 seats, CM tells workers

Vadodara: Chief minister Bhupendra Patel made his maiden visit to Vadodara and central Gujarat as the CM on Tuesday. Patel’s whirldwind tour began from Godhra followed by Savli, Lunawada and Vadodara and also addressed four gatherings of party workers in the region on the day.
At all places, he addressed sizeable gatherings in the form of ‘Sneh Milan’ events for the Gujarati new year.With such event on a mass scale being an exception, most believe that the BJP is in the election mode already.
In his speeches, Patel said that the party workers should aim at winning all 182 seats. “We should look at it with positivity. We do not want to defeat someone, we should aim for winning,” Patel said, adding that the workers had worked hard during the Covid-19 pandemic and remained in the midst of people. “The result of your hard work was seen in local body polls,” he said.
Speaking in Vadodara, Patel said that he received such a welcome for the first time after becoming the CM. He said that following the event he had a bigger responsibility towards the city.
Patel said that if plans of works in the city were brought to him, he will take them up. “We will make arrangements for such work in the budget too,” said Patel.
In Godhra, Patel assured that he would look into the issues of irrigation in the district. Godhra MLA C K Raulji had raised the issue in his speech. He had pointed out that farmers in Panchmahal were able to take only one crop a year. Similarly, Patel promised to look into the need of a dairy cooperative, a industrial estate and railways in Mahisagar district during his speech in Lunawada.
The gatherings, however, also sparked resistance. Activist Shwejal Vyas from Vadodara had on Monday threatened to file a suit if Covid guidelines were violated.