Oppn Rally LIVE: The stage is all set for West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee's mega Opposition rally against the Narendra Modi government. More than 20 national leaders, including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Arun Shourie; three present chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu and HD Kumaraswamy; and former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav and Gegong Apang will attend the meeting, TMC sources said. Most of them have already arrived in the city.
"I have met Deve Gowda-ji, Hemant-ji (Hemant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) and Akhilesh Yadav. I will meet other Opposition leaders too," Banerjee told reporters.
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Jan 19, 2019 8:37 am (IST)
More Leaders to Arrive Today | With Bharatiya Janata Party's recent defeats in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Banerjee has raised the pitch to be united against the saffron party in the 2019 general election. Bahujan Samaj Party general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, too, have already arrived. The other leaders will either arrive on Friday night or by Saturday morning, the sources said.
Jan 19, 2019 8:36 am (IST)
From CMs to Former Union Ministers, Over 20 National Leaders to Attend Mamata Rally | More than 20 national leaders, including former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Arun Shourie; three present chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu and H D Kumaraswamy; and former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav and Gegong Apang will attend the meeting, TMC sources said. Most of them have already arrived in the city. "I have met Deve Gowda-ji, Hemant-ji (Hemant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) and Akhilesh Yadav. I will meet other Opposition leaders too," Banerjee told reporters.
Jan 19, 2019 8:32 am (IST)
Left and BJP to Stay Out of Rally | Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal has said it will not attend the rally in pursuance of its policy of keeping equal distance from both the BJP and the Congress. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), along with the other Left parties, has also decided to not participate in the rally. Ajit Singh and Jayant Choudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has a base in western Uttar Pradesh and is trying for an understanding with the SP-BSP, will attend the rally.
Jan 19, 2019 8:31 am (IST)
Nation is Waiting for New PM: Akhilesh
Nation is Waiting for a New PM: Akhilesh | After arriving at the NSC Bose Airport in Kolkata, Akhilesh Yadav said the nation is "waiting for a new prime minister" and the rally will send a message for change loud and clear. He alleged the BJP-led Centre was responsible for the distress caused to farmers, youth, the poor and traders. Deve Gowda said the entire nation is united to defeat the BJP. He termed the efforts to form a "secular" government after the election "historic". The JD(S) president said those against whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made allegations have come together to form a grand alliance against his party. Sharad Pawar praised Banerjee's efforts to bring opposition parties on one platform. Loktantrik Janata Dal's Sharad Yadav said the TMC chief had put the BJP's seat tally rather higher in her estimates. "They will be much below 125," Sharad Yadav, who is trying to bring RJD, Congress, RLSP and HAM together in Bihar against the JD(U)-BJP-LJP coalition, said. BSP, which has formed an alliance with SP in Uttar Pradesh, will be represented by Satish Chandra Mishra.
Jan 19, 2019 8:29 am (IST)
United India Rally Against BJP Misrule: Mamata | Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has decided to skip the rally, extended his support to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday. He hoped it would send a powerful message for a united India. Congress has deputed its leader in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, to represent the party. In a letter to Banerjee, Gandhi commended the "great people" of West Bengal who had "historically been at the forefront of defending our ideals". "I extend my support to Mamata Di on this show of unity and hope that we send a powerful message of a united India together," Gandhi wrote. TMC, which is hosting the rally, hopes to use the event as a platform to prop Banerjee as a leader who can "take along" other parties and challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha election, expected to be held in April-May. Banerjee said regional parties would play a role in government formation after the election. "It will be a United India Rally against the misrule of the BJP. It will sound the death knell for the BJP. The saffron party's seat count in the general election will not cross 125," she claimed.
Jan 19, 2019 8:28 am (IST)
Mamata Set to Sound BJP's 'Death Knell' | The stage is set for a mega rally of opposition parties in Kolkata on Saturday, which the host TMC said would sound the "death knell" for BJP in the general election later this year. Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, socialist leader Sharad Yadav, JMM chief Hemant Soren and former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang have reached Kolkata for the rally. Chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, H D Kumaraswamy, N Chandrababu Naidu, former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's M K Stalin, and dissident BJP lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha are likely to attend the rally being projected as a show of unity against the BJP.
Preparations on in full swing for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's rally on Saturday. (PTI)
With Bharatiya Janata Party's recent defeats in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Banerjee has raised the pitch to be united against the saffron party in the 2019 general election.
Bahujan Samaj Party general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, too, have already arrived.
Large-scale preparations have been made to ensure that it is a complete success. Besides the huge stages, 20 watch towers have been erected and 1,000 microphones and 30 LED screens put up so that the spectators can see and hear the speeches of the leaders clearly.
Lakhs of TMC supporters and workers are expected to attend the rally and huge numbers of them from various corners of the state have already started pouring into the city. They have been put up in the outskirts of the city and in some auditoriums and stadiums. Hundreds of TMC volunteers will be on the grounds to take care of supporters.
A thick security blanket has been thrown on the sprawling Brigade Parade Ground — the venue for the mega rally to prevent any untoward incident. As many as 10,000 police personnel will be deployed and around 400 police pickets have been set up to ensure foolproof security, police said.
Policemen in plain clothes, personnel of the Rapid Action Force and Quick Response Team would be deployed at the rally venue. Police posting would start from as early as 4am with senior officials in the rank of assistant commissioners in charge of the five dais set up for the rally, a senior police officer said.
"We are expecting a huge turnout from all parts of the state as well as from the country. There will be so many important dignitaries. We have arranged foolproof arrangements for their security," he said.
Separate entrances have been arranged for the five dais that would be looked after by around 15 teams of police officers, he said adding that commandos and other officers would also be posted there.
"We are not allowing any food stall near the venue. Only water tanks are being allowed at a safe distance from the dais. Nobody will be allowed to light fire near the venue for cooking or any other purpose," the officer said.
Vehicular movement in and around the venue has been either restricted or directed. "VVIPs will be taken in small cars to the venue. Other would have to park their vehicle at designated parking lots. We will not let anybody to drive motorbikes to the place," he said.
A central monitoring desk has been set up at the Kolkata Police headquarters to keep a watch on the proceedings of the rally.
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