‘A turnout like Atal’s rallies’

While the party claims there were more than 3.5 lakh people at the Indira Nagar Ground here,spread over 1.08 lakh sq metres,not more than 1.25 lakh people,including those standing on the roads outside the ground,turned up to hear Modi at his first rally in UP.

“It is almost after more than a decade that such a huge crowd assembled at a BJP rally in UP. Such a huge gathering was seen only at Atal’s rallies. Today’s crowd was because of Modi’s charm and his acceptance in all sections of society,” said party state spokesperson Dr Chandra Mohan.

Party insiders said Atal had last addressed a UP rally in December 2006 at Ambedkar Maidan in Lucknow where workers from across the state had assembled.

Now,it is only the rallies of the BSP that attract big crowds.

While Modi was scheduled to reach the venue at 2.45 pm,party workers began trickling in by 11 am. Senior leaders,including Modi’s close aide Amit Shah,national secretary Rameshwar Chaurasiya and state president Laxmikant Bajpai,along with party MLAs were seen issuing directives to the public and the police from the dais in order to manage the crowd.

The cultural cell was belting out songs praising Modi and criticising Congress and SP. By 2 pm,the ground was packed to capacity.

The crowd was dominated by youths who were raising pro-Modi slogans.

Modi,too,threw questions at them about the performance of UPA and SP governments and the need for BJP rule in the Centre.

Absence of national general secretary Varun Gandhi,senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi and national vice-president Uma Bharti was noticeable. A group of youths was carrying banners that read: “Desh mein Modi,Pradesh mein Varun (Modi in the Centre and Varun in UP ).”