Rain fails to dampen spirit of rallyists in Patna

PATNA: The historic Gandhi Maidan witnessed another show of strength by the NDA – this time in the form of Sankalp Rally – on Sunday.

If NDA functionaries are to be believed, over one lakh supporters of the three ruling parties – BJP, JD(U) and LJP – thronged the Maidan from across the state to listen to PM Narendra Modi, CM Nitish Kumar, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and others.

Many rally participants wore Modi caps and masks, painted tricolour on their faces and held party or national flags in their hands. People from all ages, including teenage girls and senior citizens, comprised the composition of the rally. Slogans like ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Modi-Modi’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ were raised by the rallyists amid patriotic songs blared from loudspeakers every now and then.

While the elected representatives started speaking from as early as 10am, adrenaline rush went high among the rally participants when PM Modi arrived on the stage around 12.15pm. Youth and women workers of all three parties welcomed the PM by chanting ‘Modi-Modi’.

Supporters of the three constituents of NDA were in celebratory mood and their enthusiasm could not be doused even though it started raining minutes before the PM began his speech. The PM, however, delivered an interactive speech, asking many questions to the audience and urging them to repeat few slogans raised by him.

For instance, he asked the audience to praise Bharat Mata before starting his speech.

The crowd was also equally enthused as they gave witty reactions, whenever the PM launched an attack on the Congress-led opposition alliance. For instance, when the PM sought to know why Congress and its allies were bent upon breaking the morale of armed forces by asking for proof of air strikes on terrorist launch pads in Pakistan, one of the supporters replies, “Kyunki Hafiz Saeed Inka damaad hai (Because Hafiz Saeed, co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), is their son-in-law).”

The rally participants also hailed some strong statements made by Nitish and Paswan as well. For instance, the crowd made a loud applause when the CM launched a veiled attack on RJD by saying, “Kuch log kaam nai karte, satta me aatey hain dhan arjan karne ke liye. (Some people don’t work. They come to power only to acquire wealth).”

Similarly, the crowd agreed in unison when Paswan said PM Modi has a 156-inch, not 56-inch, chest.