People poured into south-west Delhi’s Dwarka Mor on Thursday, hoping to catch a glimpse of BJP national president Amit Shah and hear him speak.
But after hours of waiting, sweating it out and being offered consolations by BJP leaders, the crowd had to make do with Union Minister Smriti Irani and Bhojpuri actor and party leader Ravi Kishan.
Ultimately, when there was no word about Mr. Shah, many in the crowd started leaving.
Party workers and volunteers were then seen stopping people from leaving and sending them to the front rows.
‘We kept waiting’
“Door-to-door invitations with Amit Shah’s picture on them were given to all of us. We kept waiting, but the BJP workers and leaders did not announce that the plan stood cancelled. This shows how important the public is for these politicians,” said Manoj Shrinivas, a 29-year-old resident of the area.
It was Mr. Kishan who announced in the middle of his speech that Mr. Shah had apologised for not being able to come.
“Amit bhai has sent his apologies because he could not be with you. He told me to tell you that he has a sore throat,” he told the crowd.
Talking of exit polls
Mr. Kishan, meanwhile, entertained people with Bhojpuri songs and pro-BJP slogans. The crowd too joined him screaming “Modi, Modi”.
Quoting an exit poll released by a TV channel on Thursday, Mr. Kishan said that though the channel had given them 179 out of 272 seats in the Delhi municipal elections, the party would go for “ Ab ki baar , 200 paar (This time, we will cross the 200 mark).”
“We thank you for the support, but we are just messengers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are working tirelessly and are confident of a win,” he said.
Irani lashes out
Ms. Irani — who joined the public meeting later — attacked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress.
“When Goddess Lakshmi enters your house, she doesn’t come with a broom (AAP’s symbol) or waving her hand (Congress symbol), but she comes riding on the lotus (BJP’s symbol). If you want prosperity to come to you, vote for us,” she said.
She went on to allege that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had not let development projects initiated by the Centre to reach the people of Delhi.
Guns trained on CM, Cong
“Mr. Modi had launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna, but Delhi’s CM has not allowed its benefits to reach the people. What development will such a person promise?” she said.
The Union Minister also accused the Congress of not respecting its workers.
She said, “Today, we are all standing together. I, a Union Minister, the local leaders and party volunteers are all standing on one stage. Would you see such equality in the Congress?” she asked.
‘AAP won’t continue’
Parvesh Verma, Member of Parliament (MP) from west Delhi, claimed that the AAP government would not be able to continue in power for more than four months.
“I know of at least 40 MLAs from the AAP who are looking to leave the party. I challenge that they won’t be able to continue in power and there will be re-elections in Delhi, after which the BJP will come to power,” said Mr. Verma.
