The Bharatiya Janata Party will display its strength at the grassroots at the “Maha Rally” convened on its foundation day on April 6 at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. Maharashtra will be the party’s epicentre, where plans are under way for a mammoth rally. The party’s foundation day will be dedicated to the “karyakartas”. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “The growth and success of the BJP is because of its workers.”
The party’s decision to dedicate the foundation day to its workers comes at a time when the BJP is in power at the Centre and 21 states. But the larger agenda is to galvanise the grassroots workers, keeping in mind both the organisational and electoral challenges ahead in 2019. Almost three lakh workers from the ‘booth level’ across 40,913 villages spread across 36 districts of Maharashtra will converge in Mumbai on Friday. The party has organised 28 special trains to bring the workers. Buses and cars also have been deployed to bring them.
Party president Amit Shah and Fadnavis will address the rally. All Union ministers who hail from Maharashtra will attend the function. BJP state president Raosaheb Danve said, “Our emphasis is on booth-level workers. We have 90,000 booths across the state. Each booth has a team comprising 10-20 workers.” The BJP was founded on April 6, 1980. Its first conclave was held the same year at Bandra Reclamation in Mumbai. It was at this venue that former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, in his speech, had said, “Andhera Chatega, Suraj Niklega, Kamal Khilega”. Translated means, “The darkness will disappear, sun will rise, lotus will bloom”.
A senior BJP functionary, who requested anonymity, said, “After the grand success in the 2014 parliamentary elections, we have completed four years. Being the party in power, we will have to get ready for new challenges emerging from political rivals.” On the foundation day, the party should relook its journey for more than three decades and also be mindful of the tasks ahead, he added.
In the context of Maharashtra, another BJP leader said, “Whether it was municipal corporation, municipal council, zilla parishad or panchayat elections, the party retained its leading status… The foundation day has provided the BJP a forum to showcase its strength and mobilise its cadre.”
On Thursday evening, Shah will arrive in Mumbai. A bike rally from Mumbai airport to Bandra has been planned, Mumbai party president Ashish Shelar said. On Friday, Shah will address the workers at BKC. It will be followed by a closed door meeting with MLAs and MPs. The party has organised the stay of workers at various points across Kurla, Bandra, CST. Volunteers have been assigned the task of looking after their food and other logistics.