Rahul Gandhi extends support to Mamata on Oppn rally eve

New Delhi/Kolkata: On the eve of Mamata Banerjee’s “United India rally” in Kolkata on Saturday Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday extended his support to “Mamata Di” by writing to her and saying that the event will send a powerful message of a “united India together”. The Congress chief is likely to skip the event and send senior party leaders to represent the Grand Old Party.

The rally, many feel, is a bid to project the West Bengal chief minister as the face of the Opposition and a possible prime ministerial candidate — an aspiration Ms Banerjee shares with Mr Gandhi. The Congress and Ms Banerjee’s Trinamul Congress are rivals in Bengal.

Mr Gandhi’s message to the Trinamul chief came a day after Ms Banerjee underlined the need for unity among regional parties to tackle the BJP instead of forging an alliance with the Congress which has recently been dumped by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as an alliance partner for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who has already reached Kolkata, said that the nation is waiting for a new Prime Minister and a message of change would go out loud and clear from the mega Opposition rally.

“The country wants a new Prime Minister. The country is waiting for a new Prime Minister,” Mr Yadav said at the NSC Bose Airport.

“The message that will go from Bengal and from Didi (Banerjee) will be the message for change,” he said.

Ms Banerjee did not react to Mr Gandhi’s letter but her nephew and Trinamul MP from Diamond Harbour, Abhishek Banerjee, said, “Many leaders from various political parties are coming to attend this rally. You have seen Rahul Gandhi has sent a message to the chief minister. So I think it is going to be a crucial political juncture.”

The rally to be held at Kolkata’s historic Brigade Parade Ground will be attended by more than 20 national leaders, including former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, former Union ministers and BJP rebels Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Arun Shourie; three present chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, N. Chandrababu Naidu and H.D. Kumaraswamy; as well as former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav and Gegong Apang, TMC sources said. DMK chief M.K. Stalin, BSP’s Satish Mishra and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav will also be present. Most of the leaders have already arrived in the city.

The Congress will be represented by senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

In his letter to Ms Banerjee, Mr Gandhi wrote, “I extend my support to Mamata Di on this show of unity and hope that we send a powerful message of a united India together.”

In a Facebook post, he said, “The entire Opposition is united in our belief that true nationalism and development can only be defended on the tested pillars of democracy, social justice and secularism, ideas that the BJP and Mr Modi are intent on destroying.”

“We commend the great people of Bengal who have historically been at the forefront of defending our ideals,” wrote Mr Gandhi.

According to Trinamul sources, Ms Banerjee was keen that UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi attends the rally. However, neither of the Gandhis would be present on the dais on Saturday.

Talking of Mr Gandhi’s letter, West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra said, “The Congress will offer moral support to those who will fight the BJP unitedly. This is the context of Mr Gandhi’s letter. The AICC has extended its moral support in the battle against the BJP.”

The BJP took a swipe at the Congress president over his support to Ms Banerjee’s Opposition rally in Kolkata on Saturday, saying it is natural that he will remember “didi” after “behenji”, a reference to BSP supremo Mayawati who recently announced an alliance with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh after dumping the Congress.

At a press conference, BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani said the rally, which is expected to see the presence of a number of Opposition leaders, “exposes” the saffron party’s rivals as it suggests that they cannot fight it on their own.

Asked about Mr Gandhi’s letter of support to the West Bengal chief minister’s show of Opposition strength, she said, “When behenji has abandoned (him), then it is natural that he will remember didi (Mamata).”

A thick security blanket has been thrown around the sprawling Brigade Parade Ground. Besides huge stages, 20 watch towers have been erected and 1,000 microphones and 30 LED screens have been put up so that the spectators can see and hear the speeches of the leaders clearly.

Lakhs of TMC supporters and workers are expected to attend the rally and a huge number of them from various corners of the state have already started pouring into the city. They have been lodged in auditoriums and stadiums.

Hundreds of TMC volunteers will be on the grounds to take care of supporters. As many as 10,000 police personnel will be deployed and around 400 police pickets have been set up to ensure foolproof security, the police said.