In the hope of brightening its chances in the upcoming civic polls, the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is organising a massive convention to be addressed by BJP national president Amit Shah. The convention is expected to be attended by thousands of party cadres at the Ramlila Maidan here on Saturday.
Interactive session
Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari on Friday said Mr. Shah’s “interactive session” in presence of a number of Union Ministers will enthuse the thousands of workers expected to attend the event.
Union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu, Nirmala Sitharaman and Sanjeev Balyan are likely to address the gathering at Ramlila Maidan, which will begin at 10 a.m.
“Booth-level workers are at the very core of the BJP’s electoral success and its connect with the masses across States. Five in-charges from each booth will be present at the convention,” Mr. Tiwari said at a press conference.
The BJP has dubbed the group of five booth in-charges as “Panch Parmeshwar”, adding that these “workers will work like panchs towards getting administrative justice for people”.
LED screens
The Ramlila Maidan has been divided into 14 enclosures in the order of the BJP’s 14 organisational districts. LED screens are being installed in each enclosure so that workers are able to to Mr. Shah’s address easily.
The convention was to be held on March 19 but had to be postponed as the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh was being sworn in that day.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tiwari took the opportunity to take a jibe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying “a few people have only misused the historic ground [Ramlila Maidan] in the past”.
The swearing-in ceremony of the Kejriwal government was also held at the central Delhi ground in 2015, after the Aam Aadmi Party secured 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
BJP national vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, “The ensuing civic elections are an opportunity for the voters of Delhi to give mandate against a government involved in corruption, nepotism and stalling development works. We hope the people will give a reasonable mandate.”
Auto drivers join party
In another development, scores of Muslims joined the BJP on Friday. Attributing the development to Muslim women, Mr. Tiwari said it was due to their immense trust in Mr. Modi’s leadership.
“The trust of members of the minority community, especially women, is increasing in the leadership of the Prime Minister. As a result, large number of them are joining the BJP,” he said.
A press statement by the party claimed that 650 people joined BJP at a function here from Okhla and Ghonda constituencies, along with an active worker of the Aam Aadmi Party and former Janata Dal (United) candidate.
It said that representatives of various auto rickshaw and taxi unions have also announced support to the BJP and about 100 auto rickshaw drivers joined the party.
