Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was preparing for “mega rally” to be addressed by its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on December 21, the location for the same was shifted on Thursday to Jagraon, 29 kilometres away from Moga — the earlier venue.
Strategically selecting the “geographical centre of Punjab” as the venue for Modi’s rally, expected to sound the poll bugle in the State for 2014 lok Sabha elections, the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders put their stamp of approval on Jagraon, named the convention as Fateh Rally. Earlier, the State BJP had decided to organise the rally at Moga, but Modi’s expected visit to Punjab to participate in a rally to be held on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's birthday — December 8 — at same place could not be materialized owing to ongoing election processes in five States. It was then decided to hold a larger public meeting at the same place.
However, the senior leadership of both alliance partners decided, in a high-level meeting attended by SAD president and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal. Punjab BJP chief Kamal Sharma, former minister and BJP senior leader Tikshan Sud and SAD secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema, that instead of Moga, this time the rally would be held at Jagraon. “This rally bas been named as Fateh Rally, which would be addressed by Narendra Modi, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and other star leaders of NDA. It would be be held at the Sugar Mill Ground in Jagraon,” said Cheema.
Cheema said that lakhs of people including workers and leaders of both the parties from all the districts of the state are expected to participate in the rally. “Today’s meeting deliberated upon the arrangements for smooth passage of people up to the rally venue, movement of traffic, arrangement of potable water and langar besides arrangement of stay of those who would come in the evening prior to the rally day,” he added.
To further chalk out the other arrangements, Sud and Cheema have been entrusted with the responsibility. Also, to work out the modalities of the “mega rally”, a meting has also been called of the top leadership of the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on December 14. Punjab BJP president had claimed that the rally would be “the biggest so far in the country as the people would turn out in large number to create history”.
The rally, to be attended by the constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), would also witness “Chief Ministers of various BJP-run Governments in the state taking part in this meeting, which shows how serious the party will take this congregation of the people in Punjab,”. Already on job, the saffron party has allocated tasks to the leaders concerned to make the event as memorable and the one “to mark the beginning of the election campaign for
2014 polls”.
Punjab Government, on the other hand, is taking no chance in keeping the security top notch for the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate after previous month’s blasts in Patna ahead of his Hunkar Rally. Wide-awake beforehand to make elaborate security arrangements, the ruling alliance has decided to provide Modi protection by its elite Special Protection Unit, created after the Mumbai terror attacks, when he visits Moga to address an election rally.
The decision came in the wake of the alert issued by the Intelligence Bureau on another attack at BJP leader’s rally, and a day after the Chief Minister Badal has hold the Centre responsible to provide Modi foolproof security. Modi’s previous rally in the state, at Madhopur in Pathankot district, was his first after his elevation as the BJP election campaign chief, and attracted huge crowd from all walks of life.