Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar
Patna: Patna’s Gandhi Maidan has stood witness to many historic events right from the freedom struggle to the JP movement and beyond. The historic venue is now decked up for BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s ‘Hunkar rally’ on October 27.
Going by the massive preparations underway, the event is set to be one of the biggest ever political rallies that Patna has ever seen with giant hoardings and banners dotting most major intersections in the city and also elsewhere in the state.
The Bihar BJP has left no stone unturned to ensure that Hunkar rally – the first big party event after the 17-year-old alliance with JD(U) ended on June 16 – makes an impact on the voters of the electorally crucial state.
The state unit of the BJP has launched a massive campaign to mobilise support for the rally which will be addressed by Narendra Modi among others.
Almost all senior party leaders from Bihar – the party has 12 MPs and 91 MLAs in the state - have fanned out across the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state to build momentum for the big event. They are holding road shows and meetings to solicit public support for the rally.
Also, after the huge success of ‘NaMO’ tea stalls in Patna, the party has hit upon another novel idea to push brand Modi with the party unit in Saharsa giving out free jalebis in the name of Narendra Modi.
A huge tent measuring over 2.5 lakh sq feet is being erected at Gandhi Maidan – from RBI building to Mona Cinema - for the lakhs of supporters who are expected to come to the state capital. Besides arranging food – packets of puri-sabji and chuda-gur- and shelter, BJP workers have also arranged over one lakh ‘daatuns’ for their convenience.
Party workers are setting up collection and distribution centres - to manage easy distribution of food packets - at Fraser Road, near Maharaja Complex, Golamber, near Mauryalok Complex and on Exhibition Road.
As many as 11 special trains and 3000 buses have been booked to transport BJP supporters from different parts of the state to the rally venue. Enthusiastic party workers in Jajha are coming to Patna on motorbikes; they have named their cavalcade ‘Hunkar Express’.
To spread the ‘Hunkar’ message, the party has distributed two CDs ‘NaMo Hunkar’ and ‘Modi banenge PM’ right up to the village level. Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari – who recently joined the BJP – is also doing his bit to ensure that the Patna event turns out to be mega success.
At Gandhi Maidan, a huge stage has been erected which has a 30-feet-long electronic screen as the backdrop. Also, 30 more screens are being erected all across the ground to ensure that even those sitting at a distance get a clear view of the stage.
Hi-tech linear sound system and 12 cameramen stationed at vantage points are also part of the arrangements.
Besides Modi and the party leadership in Bihar, the rally will also be attended by party president Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley among others.
Going by the hype surrounding the rally, Narendra Modi is expected to hit out at his archrival Nitish Kumar. The Bihar Chief Minister had snapped ties with the BJP over the accession of Modi in the BJP hierarchy.
