Guwahati, March 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and finance minister Arun Jaitley are among the top guns of the BJP scheduled to campaign for party candidates contesting the Assam elections on April 4.
The state unit of the BJP today released a list of at least 40 leaders to campaign for the first phase, stressing that the party was giving maximum importance to Assam among the four states and a Union Territory going to polls next month.
Elections to 65 constituencies will be held in the first phase on April 4 while the rest on April 11.
The campaign by top leaders would gain momentum from tomorrow with Jaitley releasing the party's "vision document" at a five-star hotel in Guwahati at 11am and Shah addressing rallies for the party candidates contesting in Sivasagar and Sonari constituencies. Former AASU general secretary Topon Kumar Gogoi and Suravi Rajkumar (woman) are contesting against two veteran Congress leaders Sarat Borkataky (education minister) and Pranab Kumar Gogoi (Speaker) in Sivasagar and Sonari in Upper Assam respectively.
Shah is scheduled to land at Mohanbari airport in Dibrugarh at 10.40am before addressing two rallies at Sivasagar College stadium and Sonari HS School playground respectively. He is scheduled to leave for Delhi by 2.40pm.
The BJP had earlier announced that it would release a "vision document" instead of the customary election manifesto. Sources said the document would list the issues/problems concerning the state with possible solutions to which BJP would accord maximum priority if it is voted to power in the state for the first time.
Modi, during his two-day visit to the state beginning on Saturday, is scheduled to campaign for BJP-AGP candidates in Tinsukia, Majuli, Jorhat, Bokakhat, Bihpuria and Rangapara in Upper and central Assam. The party's chief ministerial candidate, Sarbananda Sonowal, is fighting for the Majuli seat. Modi will also campaign for AGP president Atul Bora, who is contesting in Bokakhat.
The BJP and the AGP have a pre-poll alliance.
Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Uma Bharti, Smriti Zubin Irani, Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Jual Oram, Arjun Munda, Hema Malini, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Kiren Rijiju and Raman Singh are among the stalwarts who will address rallies/meetings seeking votes for the party candidates.
The list also includes at least 10 BJP leaders from Assam, including Sonowal, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Gauhati MP Bijoya Chakravarty.