New Delhi: Ahead of the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is addressing the ‘Karyakarta Mahakumbh’, a mega congregation of party workers in Bhopal. The event organised at Jambooree Maidan on the occasion of birth anniversary of Hindutva icon and Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) co-founder Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya is said to be the “world’s largest congregation of political workers. The venue has been named as “Atal Mahakumbh Parisar” in memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away on August 16 this year. Also Read - Mamata's Advice Instigated People to Attack CISF: Amit Shah on Cooch Behar Violence
Modi will arrive at the Bhopal airport around noon and will reach the venue in a helicopter along with other BJP leaders to avoid inconvenience to people, party leaders said. Reports claimed that the prime minister will remain in the state capital for nearly three hours. Also Read - 4-Day Tika Utsav Begins Today, Special Drive to Vaccinate Maximum Eligible People | All You Need to Know
Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the high-profile event. “We have made adequate security arrangements for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday by deploying nearly 6,000-strong force, including 4,000 personnel from the central and reserve forces,” Inspector General (IG) Bhopal Jaideep Prasad told PTI. Nearly 22 senior IPS officers have been deployed to coordinate security details, he said. Also Read - UP: 10 killed, 40 Injured As Truck Falls Into Gorge in Etawah, CM Yogi Announces 2 Lakh Compensation
BJP workers from 65,000 polling booths spread across the 230 Assembly seats in the state will take part in the programme, said Rajnish Agrawal, another state BJP spokesman. An exhibition hall named after BJP leader and former Union minister, late Anil Madhav Dave, has also been set up at the rally site. “It will showcase the journey and works of BJP stalwarts, including Vajpayee, Modi and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” Agrawal said.
“In the exhibition, BJP and BJS stalwarts – Upadhyaya, Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Vajpayee, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia and Kushabhau Thakre – have been depicted as the five strong pillars of the BJP”, he added.
Notably, Modi and Shah’s event came days after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi visited the state capital. Gandhi held a roadshow and had addressed Congress workers and office-bearers during his September 17 visit. Both the national parties are in poll campaign mode in the state, where the BJP is in power since 2003.