A dozen rallies already held, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has embarked on an aggressive campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, which is headed for a tough fight and gearing up for the third phase of polling on May 7. With six more rallies lined up, by the end of the fifth and final phase of polling in the state on May 20, the tally of PM rallies will rise to 18 — double of the nine that he had done across the state in 2019.

The state, which sends the second highest number of parliamentarians — 48 — to the Lok Sabha after Uttar Pradesh that sends 80 MPs, has turned into a major fighting ground for the BJP, which is eyeing 45 seats in the state and 370-plus seats across the country.Despite split in two major regional parties — Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and NCP led by Sharad Pawar in June 2022 and July 2023 respectively, BJP reckons a stiff political challenge from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi — the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP). The caste polarisation, specifically in Marathwada with Maratha reservation protest led by activist Manoj Jarange Patil, coupled with anticipated sympathy factor in Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s favour, BJP’s top leadership is leaving nothing to chance to turn the tide in its favour in the key state.

Modi’s first public rally in Maharashtra took place in Chandrapur in Vidarbha region on April 8. Five years ago, Chandrapur was the lone seat where Congress won. Apart from Chandrapur, PM rallies were held at Ramtek, Nanded, Parbhani, Wardha, Satara, Kolhapur, Solapur, Pune, Latur, Madha and Dharashiv. In the coming days, the party expects at least six more rallies in areas covering North Maharashtra, Mumbai, Thane and Marathwada region.