BJP plans to sign off Rath Yatras with Modi's rally in Kolkata in March
BJP leaders said the last part of the procession will begin on Sagar Island around February 12 and reach Kolkata in March. Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to flag it off.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address a rally in Kolkata in March to mark the end of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Parivartan Rath Yatras (processions for the change) in poll-bound West Bengal. BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda will on Saturday launch the yatras.
BJP leaders said the last part of the procession will begin on Sagar Island around February 12 and reach Kolkata in March. Union home minister Amit Shah is expected to flag it off.
“The Rath Yatra programme will reach its peak when the fifth and final one [procession]. It is expected to be launched by Shah and culminate at a public rally in the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata in early March. Modi is likely to address the rally,” said a BJP leader, who did not wish to be named.
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The fifth Rath Yatra will pass through ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) Parliament member Abhishek Banerjee's constituency, Diamond Harbour, and South Kolkata. Abhishek Banerjee is a nephew of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who represents South Kolkata's Bhawanipur in the state assembly.
“We are planning to take the rally through Sirakol in Diamond Harbour, the spot where Nadda’s convoy was attacked on December 10. It would also cover places in South Kolkata and North Kolkata,” said a second BJP leader, requesting anonymity.
The TMC downplayed the Rath Yatras. “It is their party programme and they can do whatever they want after taking the due police permission. But it would fetch them no advantage and they would lose the elections. They would not be able to reach three digits in the elections,” said TMC leader Saugata Roy.
The assembly elections in the state are due this summer. The BJP is buoyed by its gains in the state in the 2019 national polls elections when it won 18 of Bengal's 42 seats. The BJP has set a target of winning over 200 seats in the 294-member West Bengal assembly.
BJP leaders said the last Rath Yatra will begin from the Kapil Muni ashram on Sagar Island where millions of pilgrims congregate annually in mid-January to take a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal.
“The Rath Yatra in a boat will reach the mainland and then assume a proper shape from Namkhana. It would then head towards Diamond Harbour,” said a third BJP leader.
BJP leader Mukul Roy said their main aim is to reach the people. "There are many ways to reach the people--be it on foot or on a cycle. Let us see where it reaches."
