Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had neither dynastic tradition nor a hereditary political legacy but built his identity through penance, spiritual discipline and struggle.
The first day of the campaign, September 17 (coinciding with Modi’s birthday), will be observed as Seva Diwas and ‘Aashirwad Ka Diya’ (lamp of blessings) will be lit in every gram panchayat, urban local body and important establishment to pray for the PM’s long and healthy life, the chief minister said. Kashi-bound yatras will carry water from Vadnagar, while yatras going to Vadnagar will carry holy water from 10 rivers of Uttar Pradesh to Gujarat. All the yatras will start on September 17 and reach their destination on October 7, holding chaupals and ‘jan samvad’ at four places daily en route, the chief minister said.
The entire country is benefiting from the prime minister’s penance in the form of capable leadership, Adityanath said at a joint press conference with UP BJP president and Union minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary here. The chief minister said, “October 7, 2026 marks the completion of 25 years of Modiji’s service as the chief minister of Gujarat and as prime minister.”
The core of the campaign will be ‘Seva Setu’ camps to enrol deprived eligible beneficiaries in government schemes. The camps will be organised for six-seven days in each of the 826 development blocks of the state and 762 urban local bodies between September 29-30 and October 10, he said. Targeting the Congress, Adityanath recalled former Prime Minister the late Rajiv Gandhi’s statement that out of ₹ 100 sent from Delhi only ₹ 15 reached the poor, saying it reflected the helplessness of the system then. In contrast, after 2014, Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Ram temple in Ayodhya, and the grand Kumbh showed heritage and development together, he said.
On heritage, the chief minister said the Congress opposed the then President Rajendra Prasad attending the Somnath temple programme.
