The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning a series of public rallies, scheduled every Sunday, which will feature star campaigners and may include Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself. Beginning mid-December, at least four such rallies are being planned till early February in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
The rally blitz will commence from December 16 at the ‘Hunkar Rally’ at Ramlila Maidan. A contingent of roughly 50,000 all-women attendees will be present to commemorate the brutal gang rape incident of 2012. Similar events are being planned on every successive Sunday till February 1, party sources said.
Sources said that the objective of the rallies will be to simultaneously influence and draw incrementally larger numbers from different social groupings at each of the four successive public events.
BJP national president Amit Shah will address at least one, if not two, of these events, said sources.
Preparing khichdi
The last among these scheduled programs will ‘hopefully’ see Mr. Modi preside over the community preparation of khichdi , with rice collected from four lakh SC/ST homes across Delhi, said party sources.
The rice, a party source explained, would be in lieu of a tabulated report card listing the Narendra Modi-led government’s achievements viz. the development of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe citizens across the country.
“So far, four such rallies have been planned beginning December 16 where 50,000 attendees are expected, then one on December 23 where 70,000 are expected followed by another on December 30 and then in mid-January or early February where as many as one lakh participants are expected to be in attendance, each,” said a party source.
“The final event may see the Prime Minister being a part of the rally in addition to several Union Ministers as well as senior leaders from other States,” the source said.
Schedule of rallies
The first rally on December 16, said the source, will see the mobilisation of 50,000 party workers from the booth-level upwards.
The ‘Panch Parmeshvar’ rally, scheduled on December 23 at the Indira Gandhi stadium, will see party national president Amit Shah address 70,000 workers from different categories from 13,818 booths across the Capital.
A rally dedicated to the youth will take place on December 30 where it is expecting the participation of one lakh workers followed by the final one, either on January 20 or February 1.
“We are in the process of finalising arrangements for the event in January, which may be held on January 20 or on February 1. The Prime Minister may participate and address the event in addition to overseeing the preparation of a community khichdi ,” the source added.
