Strength show on Maya b'day

BSP tries to tell opponents it's neither down nor out

Not wanting to be left behind in ongoing season of rallies in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BSP too has decided to hold a ‘massive’ rally on birthday of its supremo Mayawati’s on January 15.

The rally, to be addressed by Mayawati and other leaders from across the country, will be a ‘show of strength’ by the Bahujan Samaj Party.

It aims not only at proving a few points to its political adversaries but also at boosting the morale of the party workers as BSP had suffered a big blow owing to its dismal show at the recently concluded Assembly polls in MP, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh.

Senior party leaders here said the rally will be ‘massive’ and ‘break the records’ of all other parties in crowd-pulling. The rally will be held at the sprawling Ramabai Ambedkar Park, which is the biggest ground in the state capital. 

“We plan to break all records with this rally,” a senior BSP leader told Deccan Herald.

He said the MPs, MLAs, coordinators and other senior leaders have been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring the rally is bigger that those addressed by the BJP’s prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi and the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav.

“We want to send a message to our opponents that we are neither down nor out. The rally will prove it,” the leader added.

“Since BSP leaders and workers from other parts of the country will also take part in the rally, a good crowd will also reassure them,” he said.

It was not clear if Mayawati would be presented with any ‘cash gift’ at the rally. The BSP leaders, including Lok Sabha and Assembly members, have started collecting funds to be presented to the party supremo on her birthday.

A few years ago, Mayawati had been garlanded with currency notes at a rally at the same venue, triggering a huge controversy. Later on the practice of gifting her cash had been scrapped. The practice is likely to start again from next year.