11 December,2010 06:49 AM IST | | Sanjeev Devasia
With an eye on BMC elections, party CMs from various northern states will share dais with Nitin Gadkari as part of a mass rally on Makar Sankranti
BUOYED by its recent success in the Bihar elections and with an eye on north Indian voters for the upcoming BMC elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will organise a grand rally and public meeting at Somaiyya Grounds in Chunabhatti on January 16 to celebrate Makar Sankranti.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari and other BJP national leaders will address a party rally at Somaiyya Grounds in Chunabhatti on January 16
Christened the Khichdi Utsav, the event will see BJP chief ministers from northern states share the dais with National Party President Nitin Gadkari and State President Sudhir Mungantivar.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Premkumar Dhumal, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, Jharkand Chief Minister Arjun Munda, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, former Union minister Murali Manohar Joshi and MP Varun Gandhi are expected to address the meeting.
City BJP leaders of north Indian origin have been assigned the task of gathering the crowds for the meeting from various places.
Before the Utsav, a meeting of party workers will be organised on December 25 at the Kamgar Krida maidan, which will be addressed by former BJP president Rajnath Singh.
Around 4,000 to 5,000 BJP workers will attend the meeting, where they will be given guidance and directions on preparations to be made for the utsav.
Political observers said that hitherto, most Mumbaikars of UP and Bihari origin preferred to align with the Congress in Mumbai as the BJP was in alliance with the Shiv Sena and the party was seen to be on the backfoot especially when it came to defending north Indians.
Therefore, the party wants to revamp its image among north Indian voters before the BMC polls.
"We will get Hindi speakers from various places such as Kalyan, Thane, Karjat, Dahanu, Navi Mumbai, Kasara, Vasai and Virar to the utsav," said Shamsher Singh, president of the Uttar Bharatiya cell of the BJP. The party has about 29 corporators in the city.
