Azimio la Umoja presidential hopeful Raila Odinga begins his three-day campaigns in Deputy President William Ruto's Rift Valley backyard today, where he will hold rallies in Iten, West Pokot and Turkana.
The tour comes barely a day after the landmark Supreme Court verdict on the Building Bridges Initiative, the brainchild of Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta that was vehemently opposed by Dr Ruto and his allies.
It also comes a day after ODM announced that it will not hold nominations in the larger part of the Rift Valley, as it had resolved on consensus in most counties in the region.
The ODM boss will start with Uasin Gishu, where he will attend the burial of prominent farmer and politician Jackson Kibor on Friday before heading to Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet for a rally.
On Saturday, Mr Odinga will camp in West Pokot, which is dominated by the Kenya Union Party (KUP) of area Governor John Lonyangapuo, who is also in Azimio.
In West Pokot, Mr Odinga will hold rallies in Ortum, Alale and Lomut.
The Azimio presidential aspirant wants to leave nothing to chance in his quest for the region’s 5.09 million votes.
In 2017, Mr Odinga received 2,036 votes in Uasin Gishu against 263,098 for Mr Kenyatta. In Elgeyo Marakwet, he garnered 461 votes against Mr Kenyatta’s 126,667, and in Nandi 1,178 against the President's 227,979.
In Baringo, he received 837 votes against 150,432 of President Kenyatta, while in Kericho, he garnered 1,312 against 270,927 and in Bomet, 2,024 against 223,097.
Mr Odinga, who was the darling of the region in 2007, is focused on improving his rating there by putting together an influential team that will carry out a vigorous grassroots campaign.
The team is led by Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos, who has broken ranks in the region to support Mr Odinga on a plan that will see the ODM boss visit all counties perceived to be DP Ruto’s strongholds.
The team wants to increase Mr Odinga’s votes in the region to 35 percent through grassroots meetings that seek to change the narrative that the Rift Valley is just for Dr Ruto.
“We want to increase Baba’s (Mr Odinga) votes in the region to 35 percent, up from 24 percent of the 2017 polls. We need to consolidate his votes in the region because they are already there,” Mr Tolgos.
“Initially, there was that fear that when you come out openly supporting Baba, there is intimidation. As leaders who support Baba, we must come out strongly and give confidence to those supporting him.”
In Turkana, DP Ruto suffered a major blow when MPs James Lomenen (Turkana South), Ali Lokiru (Turkana East) and Joyce Emanikor (woman rep) abandoned him. The leaders will now join hands with former Mining Cabinet Secretary John Munyes and Loima MP Jeremiah Lomorukai, who is also ODM vice-chairman, to drum up support for Mr Odinga.
In 2017, Mr Odinga won 71,063 votes against 58,744 votes of President Kenyatta.
