Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi will be in Chhattisgarh on Friday to campaign for the first phase of the Assembly elections in the state.

The PM will address a rally in Jagdalpur, the Bastar district headquarter, while Gandhi is slated to be on a two-day tour of the state.

During his tour, the Congress leader will address five rallies and hold a road show in Chief Minister Raman Singh’s constituency Rajnandgaon.

PM Modi is scheduled to arrive at Raipur airport at 11:20 am Friday after which he will take a helicopter to Jagdalpur. Following the rally, he will leave for Raipur at 2 pm and then return to Delhi, a state BJP spokesperson said on Thursday.

“This will be the PM’s first election rally for the state Assembly polls. It will add power to the party’s campaign,” the spokesperson added.

Gandhi on Friday will address his first rally in Pakhanjore town of Kanker district at noon, followed by public meetings in Rajnandgaon district’s Khairgarh and Dongargarh towns, and a road show in Rajnandgaon, said head of Congress state communication wing Shailesh Nitin Trivedi.

He will put up at Rajnandgaon for the night. On Saturday, he will address rallies in Charama (Kanker district) and Kondagaon, Trivedi said, adding that the Congress chief will also chair a meeting of party workers in Jagdalpur.

The Congress is hoping to leverage anti-incumbency sentiments and the rising agrarian crisis in the state in its bid to oust the 15-year-old Raman Singh-led government.

Congress veteran and Leader of Opposition T.S. Singh Deo firmly believes Chhattisgarh is all set to end the BJP’s “misrule and anti-people” policies.

“The agrarian crisis, exploitation of tribals and a downward spiraling economy with no jobs are the hallmarks of the Raman Singh government. Reeling under 15-years of misrule, the people, especially farmers and tribals, will vote the Congress to power in the state,” Singh Deo had told IANS.

Meanwhile, Raman Singh is also scheduled to hold a road show in Rajnandgaon on Friday evening. He is pitted against the Congress’s Karuna Shukla, niece of late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The campaigning for the first phase will end on Saturday.

The first phase on November 12 will see 18 seats of eight Maoist-affected districts go to polls. Of these, 12 are Scheduled Tribe seats while one is a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat.

The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20 and counting of votes will be held on December 11.

(With agency inputs)