Raipur, CGnews: Chhattisgarh BJP learnt a lesson from Gujarat to retain in power after the coming assembly election as Narendra Modi came back third time in Gujarat. With an eye to the assembly polls later this year, Chhattisgarh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has smothered the state's 15 cities with saffron flags and banners on the eve of the launch Wednesday of a scheme to provide rice at Rs.3 a kg to 3.4 million poor families.
 

As many as 15 top ranking BJP leaders, including party president Rajnath Singh and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, will launch the Rs.8 billion ($206 million) a year Chief Minister's Food Security Scheme at 15 cities simultaneously. Sushma Swaraj could not reach in Raipur as scheduled. So Rajnath Singh delivered his speech in Raipur after Bilaspur. There is a huge gathering in both public meetings.

The BJP government in Chhattisgarh on Jan 16 launched a scheme providing rice at Rs 3 per kg to 65 per cent population of the state.

The scheme will benefit 34 lakh families classified as "poor" in an official survey, which constitute 65 per cent of the total population of the state, Chief Minister Raman Singh said.

Under the Mukhya Mantri Khadyan Sahayata Yojana, Rs 837 crores would be spent from the state exchequer, he said, adding the rice which will be purchased at Rs 14 per kg would be distributed among the poor at Rs 3 per kg.

The Chief Minister denied that the scheme had anything do with assembly election.

The main opposition party Congress has described the scheme "a poll gimmick and an exercise aimed to get over fast sagging public image of the BJP government."

The mineral-rich Chhattisgarh will elect its new members to the 90-member state assembly in November this year. "