After much ado the Indian Army finally granted permission for the landing of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s helicopter at the Race Course adjacent to the Brigade Parade Ground where he would hold a rally on Wednesday.
The chopper would carry Modi and BJP national president Rajnath Singh from NSI Airport to the Race Course, State party chief Rahul Sinha said on Tuesday “thanking the media for highlighting the conspiracy that was being hatched by invisible hands at the Centre to create trouble for the mammoth rally.”
After much dilly-dallying the Congress had allowed the chopper to land at Race Course as a damage control measure, Sinha said. Earlier a furious Bengal BJP leadership cried conspiracy and attacked “those pulling strings from behind” after the Army refused permission for landing of Modi’s helicopter at Race Course.
“They could have denied permission earlier. Doing so at the last moment smacks of something fishy” said a fuming BJP State president Rahul Sinha on Tuesday. The BJP leadership was planning to bring the caravan via road from the NSI Airport to the rally ground, insiders said adding they had planned the chopper route to avoid inconvenience to the people as also with his security on mind.
The party is expecting a massive five lakh-plus crowd, first of its kind by the saffron outfit, leaders said. “Notwithstanding hindrances created by our political opponents we are expecting that lakhs of people will come to listen to Modiji,” Sinha said. Though comparatively weak than the larger parties like the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) the BJP is largely banking on the popularity of Modi for the ambitious rally to become a success.
Historically speaking the Brigade ground had earlier seen massive rallies crossing 10-lakh mark during Indira-Mujib meeting and those organised by the left and addressed by the likes of Jyoti Basu. The latest such rally addressed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 30 witnessed a similar turnout.
The Gujarat Chief Minister who would be accompanied by BJP national president Rajnath Singh and other dignitaries was likely to kick-start the party’s electoral campaign in the State for the upcoming lok Sabha elections.
To make the rally a grand success by widening mass contact the BJP leaders had sold “NaMo tea” and “NaMo sweets” in many parts of the State apart from organising Jalrath or water procession on the Hooghly River.
Meanwhile, the security around the rally site has been beefed up against the backdrop of Patna blasts last year, police sources said adding the members of Gujarat STF, Kolkata Police and the NSG were coordinating among themselves to ensure optimum security cover to Gujarat Chief Minister.
An IG level officer along with a 40-member team of senior officers from Gujarat was camping in Kolkata, sources said. The nearby high-rises would be covered and the “security procedures for a prime ministerial trip are being followed” said a Kolkata Police officers adding CCTV cameras had been installed at various locations.