Despite 3-Bomb Blasts, Modi Rally Is BJP’s 'Big' In Patna

By Rahul Tiwari / Patna

A rousing welcome for the BJP’s PM-candidate Narendra Modi. This is, after all, his most important rally to date — not just to put former ally Nitish Kumar, who blocked Modi’s entry into Bihar for years, in his place, but also to stake his claim to parts of the country that have not had the opportunity to welcome him before.
Former deputy chief minister of Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi is speaking. “More than half of the people attending the rally are youth, the youth are with us and the youth are with Narendra Modi,” he says. Then adds: “In my 40 years of public life, I have seen JP and Lalu rallies. I have even seen  JDU rallies. But this rally has broken all records.” History will never forgive you, Modi tells Nitish, accusing him of “betraying” the people of Bihar.

This is by far the biggest Narendra Modi rally ever, says Firstpost’s Sanjay Singh who is at the rally venue. “Lakhs of locals have walked to the venue too,  the numbers are now greater than the turnout at the Bhopal rally last month,” is Sanjay’s update. There are now rumours of a pipe bomb and firecrackers being recovered in a 100 metre radius from the stage. The intention is clear, to cause commotion. Apart form the eight regular trains that come into Patna in the morning hours, 11 special trains were arranged by the BJP to bring the crowds into Patna.

INN Live Correspondent Rahul Tiwari, who had to walk nearly six kilometres to the rally venue in Patna, has this update: “It is a sea of people, everybody walking towards Gandhi Maidan. This is perhaps the biggest ever rally in Patna,  and definitely the BJPs biggest such rally in this city.” All along the route, hundreds of banners and posters have been strung up or are being carried by those walking towards the venue. The mood is electric. On news of a second low intensity blast in Patna a few minutes ago, organisers at the rally venue  are repeatedly reminding the crowds not to set of ffirecrackers — these are causing confusion and nervousness.  One firecracker went off at one corner and the smoke caused several people to rush around in a frenzy.

Early speakers include former minister Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav and  Dr Prem Kumar who represents Gaya. The Congress-mukt Bharat theme continues from earlier BJP rallies. There is one addition this time: Live tweets from Team Modi and the speakers are also touching upon the party symbol, the ‘kamal’ or lotus. This is part of the BJP’s strategy to ensure that the Modi wave translates into votes for the party’s other, lesser known candidates too. Especially in Bihar and in states where the party has a poor presence, this will be critical.

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will sound his ‘Hunkar’ or war cry, an announcement to the state of Bihar that the BJP is ready to go to war with former ally Nitish Kumar and his Janata Dal (United). Persona non grata in Patna and elsewhere in Bihar until now thanks to former NDA ally Nitish ensuring that his hold on the state remains undiluted by any personalities with a matching power to appeal to the masses, Modi’s Hunkar rally in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan made waves weeks before the event, first with a controversy over the clashing visit of President Pranab Mukherjee (who later rescheduled his Bihar plans and returned to Delhi yesterday) and then with the sheer scale of the preparations.

Eleven additional trains from across north and central India have arrived at Patna railway station this morning, lakhs are on their way to the rally venue, all of Patna now a chaotic sea of people walking to Gandhi Maidan amid NaMo chants and banners and posters everywhere. As reported by Firstpost’s Sanjay Singh, Hunkar is the counter to Nitish Kumar’s Adhikar rally. 

“Ahead of the rally, Sushil Kumar Modi was in a very buoyant mood and was constantly monitoring the inflow of rallyists from all parts of the state: 8000 buses, 25000 small vehicles, 11 special trains, 8 regular trains, hundreds of boats to ferry across the Ganga and so on. The task is gigantic but the party leaders and workers have a visible cheerfulness and there is a feel of organising a family wedding with the objective of upstaging a jealous neighbour,” the report said.