Delhi BJP postpones Sunday rally at Ramlila Maidan for second time

With its top brass bound for Lucknow for the swearing-in ceremony of the new Uttar Pradesh government, the Delhi unit of the BJP has postponed its booth level workers’ meet that was scheduled for Sunday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi has postponed its booth level workers’ meet which was to be held on Sunday at Ramlila Maidan once again, in view of the swearing-in ceremony of the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh scheduled for the same day in Lucknow.

BJP Delhi State president Manoj Tiwari during the monthly meeting with workers in New Delhi, India on Thursday. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

The convention in Delhi ahead of the civic polls was to be addressed by the party president Amit Shah and Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu to motivate party workers for better booth level election management.

The workers’ meet will now happen on March 25. This is the second time the event has been rescheduled. Earlier, it was planned on March 6 but had to be deferred as Shah, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, and other party leaders were then busy in campaigning in Uttar Pardesh assembly elections.

Ravinder Gupta, general secretary, Delhi BJP said the meeting at Ramlila Maidan has been postponed as Shah and Naidu would be present in the oath-taking ceremony along with senior party leadership in Lucknow.

“Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari is going to attend the function too. Now, the meeting be held on March 25. The workers are eagerly waiting to seek guidance from national president Amit Shah therefore we decided to defer the meet for a week,” he said.

With the booth workers meeting, the BJP was to formally kick start the campaign for civic polls in the national capital. More than 65,000 party workers, who have been named ‘panchparmeshwar’, were invited to participate.

Apart from this, a team of 373 senior workers formed for booth management were also to be present at the convention.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the programme was postponed because BJP councillors and office-bearers are not happy with the decision of the party not allowing them or their family members to the contest municipal elections therefore they are not supporting.

“Reports from the ground suggest that non-cooperation by sulking councillors led to the cancellation of Amit Shah’s Rally. If true it only accentuates what we have known for months, the present Delhi BJP is in no state to mount a worthy challenge in the MCD polls,” said Ashish Talwar, incharge of AAP (Delhi).