In the excitement generated over the PM’s rally, the State BJP brass seemed to have forgotten to correct the hue of the lotus — the party symbol-from the earlier saffron to the present white. The banner placed behind the stage bore the saffron lotus despite the fact that the party had changed the colour of the symbol from the previous saffron to white in the run-up to the general election-2014.
Former Chief Minister and Udham Singh Nagar MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari was so excited over the mammoth size of the turnout that his voice started faltering. Things went to such an extent that his speech turned inaudible at one point of time.
Four former CMs- Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Vijay Bahuguna- were present on the dais. However, it was Khanduri who was honoured with the task of offering a shawl to the PM. While Koshyari offered the same to the Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari Dr Nishank felicitated the Union minister of state for transport Mansukh l Mandavia. Bahuguna felicitated another Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This discriminating arrangement of felicitation sent many tongues wagging over whether lady luck would smile on Khanduri in case the party cobbles up a majority in the upcoming Assembly election.
When PM Modi referred to the scooters eating 25 litre of fuel in a sarcastic dig at the disaster relief scam, the former CM Vijay Bahuguna might have blushed at his roots. This is because of the fact that he was the CM when the disaster struck and its aftermath. Amused by the PM’s jibe, some party workers seated on the public gallery were heard saying that the person to be targeted was seated on the same dais he was sitting on .
Madan Kaushik and state BJP president Ajay Bhatt who is also an MlA represented Garhwal and Kumaon regions respectively on the dais as local MlAs. However later, Tehri and local MP Mala Rajya lakshmi Shah was asked to felicitate the PM through a shawl. Mending the previous blunders that had raised many an eyebrow in the state party roost, all the five MPs and the state BJP president were allowed their turns to address the gathering comprising over half a lakh of people.
State BJP seemed to have planned well to flaunt an impressive crowd for the crucial public meeting. Third of the sprawling ground was kept for the people while the ground was divided into three sections. One section was kept for the security enclosure. The other was filled with chairs which were mostly unoccupied. With the space being thus limited, the surging crowd jostled their way in the part meant for them. However, thousands of people who arrived late were stopped from getting into the ground. Barricades were put up at three ends- DAV College, Raipur Road and EC Road at Survey Chowk. The restless crowd, out to get entry, broke through the barricade put near DAV College.