Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal supremo Naveen Patnaik’s Swabhiman Samabesh scheduled in New Delhi on Wednesday to demand Special Category State (SCS) status for Odisha is all set to be the most expensive political event in the State’s history.
The ruling party has booked at least seven special trains with 22 bogies each to carry about 15,000 party activists to the National Capital. Sources said Patnaik sent his emissary to the Rail Bhavan a few days back besides personally speaking to Railway Minister CP Joshi for arrangement of the trains.
The BJD demanded trains having sleeper class coaches for a comfortable journey of its workers. But the trains provided by the Indian Railways would only have seating arrangements.
The BJD has claimed to gather at least 30,000 people for its Delhi show of strength. According to BJD sources, the party has to spend at least Rs 20 lakh for each train. Therefore, the train fare would amount to about Rs 1.5 crore, besides personal expenses of 30,000 people.
Arrangements of hundreds of buses have been made in the New Delhi railway station to take the party workers to various designated places in the national capital.
The trains started from Puri, Cuttack, Jajpur, Brahmapur, Koraput, Sambalpur and Rourkela on Monday, the sources said. Besides the special trains, the Chief Minister and other Ministers would travel by air to Delhi to attend the rally.
The Chief Minister and some other Ministers would, however, go to Delhi at Government expenses as they are scheduled to attend some official meetings. For example, the Chief Minister is to attend a meeting convened by the Prime Minister to discuss anti-Maoist measures.
And Forest and Environment Minister Bijayshree Routray has arranged a meeting with the National Tiger Conservation Authority in Delhi to discuss how to deal with the wild tiger that escaped from the Nandankanan Zoo!
The party is also aiming at mobilising a large number of people from the National Capital Region.
It has pasted large numbers of posters and put up hoardings in the areas having significant presence of people from Odisha. At least 22 dharmashalas and official residences of party MPs are arranged to house the visiting party activists in Delhi.
This apart, about 5,000 people would stay put at the Ramlila Maidan, the venue for the rally. In the run-up to the Delhi event, the BJD is also trying to whip up regional sentiments by releasing a video with a pep talk appealing to Odia pride through advertisements in local TV channels, radios and newspapers.
BJD vice-president and Panchyati Raj Minister Kalpataru Das said that at least 60 persons are being taken from each Assembly constituency. After the Delhi rally in the evening, Naveen Patnaik would lead a 20- member delegation President Pranab Mukherjee to submit the booklets containing one hundred signatures demanding SCS status to Odisha, Das said.