The biggest-ever united opposition rally in Kolkata, scheduled to begin by noon on Saturday, has been called 'United India' by Mamata Banerjee as she seeks to bring together opponents of the BJP on a common platform. The rally is already causing ripples in the BJP, with the party likely to expel a prominent MP who is expected to attend the event.
The United India rally will be held at the Brigade Parade ground in Kolkata, which is under the control of the Indian Army.
The West Bengal chief minister personally greeted every opposition leader from across the country as they landed in Kolkata one by one on Friday. Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has made it. So has DMK chief M.K. Stalin, who despite an initial refusal, made it to Kolkata late on Friday evening. Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda landed on Friday evening while his son, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, landed a few hours later, despite the ongoing political crisis in the state.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also landed along with Kumaraswamy. The National Conference would be represented by Farooq Abdullah.
While he is not attending, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has expressed support for the United India rally through a letter. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who was supposed to attend, might not make it. Instead, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Trinamool Congress's lawyer in the Supreme Court in many cases, would attend. However, attempts are being made to bring Kharge to the rally.
The northeast has been represented by Gegong Apang, former chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, who recently quit the BJP. BSP chief Mayawati is not attending, but her close associate Satish Mishra would be representing her. Other notable absentees are Andhra Pradesh opposition leader Jagan Mohan Reddy and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, who has been critical of the Narendra Modi government in recent years, has also arrived in Kolkata to attend the United India rally. His attendance may invite expulsion from the party, and a highly placed source told THE WEEK that Sinha would be expelled from the BJP on Saturday. His former colleagues in the A.B. Vajpayee cabinet, Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, have already reached Kolkata for the rally.
The attendances of leaders like Sharad Pawar and Stalin—who have previously supported the projection of Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate of an anti-BJP alliance in place of Banerjee—is expected to bring cheer to the West Bengal chief minister.
All these leaders have repeatedly expressed their desire to prevent Narendra Modi from returning to power.
"This is high time that we should stop BJP from coming to power. We will do it at any cost," said Yadav.
Not surprisingly, the BJP has called the United India rally a circus. The BJP has decided to counter Banerjee's rally with a series of rallies in West Bengal featuring Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
"It's the amalgamation of all losers. Let them try. Good that our prime minister would launch the party's battle from Bengal. He and Yogiji, along with Amitji (party chief Amit Shah), would come to Bengal. Amitji would soon come to Kolkata once he recovers. Mamata Banerjee would have sleepless nights. Let her celebrate for a day only," said Dilip Ghosh, West Bengal BJP president.
Highly placed sources said that BJP would come out with a "stunning press conference" on Saturday at the same time when the leaders opposing the BJP would raise their high-decibel voices in Kolkata.
More than 1,500 loudspeakers have been fixed all over the rally ground. Banerjee has set a target of bringing nearly 40 lakh people from across West Bengal to attend the United India rally. Lakhs of people from various districts of Bengal have reached Kolkata in trains, and they are being housed in different sports complexes, hotels, party offices and small guest houses of Kolkata. Sources said many travelled on trains without tickets. Twenty-five LED screens would be fitted across the Brigade Parade ground with Kolkata Police ensuring blanket security cover around the high security zone of Kolkata.
Many schools and colleges decided to suspend events and private companies also relaxed their attendance requirements as public transport may be taken off the road or thrown out of gear during the duration of the United India rally.
A private school in Kolkata, while rescheduling examinations for students, informed, "We are postponing it due to Brigade chalo event organised by Trinamool Congress committee."
Unofficial estimates said the total expenses for the United India rally would be around Rs 50 crore!