Rubbishing any resentment within the party regarding their ‘Atal Shankhnaad’ rally scheduled to be held at Jhulelal Park on January 21, Bharatiya Janata Party state chief Laxmikant Bajpayi said the rally was not meant only to announce the party’s merger with Rashtriya Kranti Party headed by Rajbir Singh, son of former chief minister Kalyan Singh. The main aim of the rally, he said, was to test the strength of BJP workers and leaders after the election of district and state chiefs and added that throughout the rally, the party wants to showcase unity within the rank and file of the party. All prominent leaders of the state BJP and of national importance from the state along with national party chief Nitin Gadkari would be sharing the dais on the rally day, said Bajpayi.
“If there is any doubt in the minds of party workers, I would like to make it clear that merger of RKP into BJP is just one of the highlights of the rally. The aim of the rally is also to highlight governance of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former chief ministers Kalyan Singh, Rajnath Singh and Ramprakash Gupta,” Bajpayi further said.
The rally is expected to see around 12,000 RKP workers led by its chief Rajbir Singh joining BJP. Besides, state BJP has been given the target to bring in around 50,000 new members. Strict instructions had been given to bring only party workers to the rally, said Bajpayi, adding that on the day, state BJP will also launch a helpline for the common man. The aim of the helpline is to ensure that common man having any problem with officials is helped by BJP leaders and workers of the district concerned without wasting time, he said.
Those who attending the rally will include national BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, veteran BJP leader Dr M M Joshi, former national BJP chief Rajnath Singh, senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, national vice-presidents Kalraj Misra, Vinay Katiyar, senior BJP leader Lalji Tandon, Pilibhit and Gorakhpur MPs Varun Gandhi and Yogi Adityanath among others.
The rally will be addressed by 12 BJP leaders in the order of seniority, Bajpayi told TOI and added that former CM Kalyan Singh’s name is also on the list of speakers. Whether he would address the gathering too or not will be at his discretion, said Bajpayi.
Claiming it would be an unprecedented show of strength by the BJP, special arrangements have been made for the party workers at nine entry roads in the city, Bajpayi said, adding that local party workers will be present on all the entry points to greet the workers from other districts. Besides, arrangements had been made for their lunch packets and other basic amenities at these entry points, Bajpayi further added.
