|
The rally, held ahead of the assembly elections in
Bihar, marks the beginning of the BJP campaign in the state
|
New Delhi(Agencies) : Home Minister
and former BJP president Amit Shah, on Sunday, addressed a virtual rally amid
the COVID-19 crisis to mark one year of Narendra Modi government 2.0 and said
the Narendra Modi government had sent 1.25 crore migrants home safely during
the lockdown.
Amit Shah, addressing ‘Bihar Jan-Samwaad’, called it the
first virtual rally in the history of the country and insisted that it had
nothing to do with the forthcoming elections in the state.
“My rally has nothing
to do with elections. It is a rally to bring together the people of the county
fighting against the COVID-19 crisis,” Amit Shah said while enlisting pro-poor,
pro-women, pro-farmers and pro-migrants decisions announced by the Narendra
Modi government during the crisis. He also lambasted the BJP’s political rivals
in the state, including the RJD and the Congress.
“Who has stopped you
from holding virtual rallies?” he asked.
The RJD held a protest with the family of its supremo, Lalu
Prasad, leading it.
The Home Minister thanked the people of the state for reposing
faith in the Narendra Modi government.
The biggest benefit of the Narendra Modi government had been
for the people from ‘poorvanchal’, West Bengal and the Eastern parts of the
country, he said.
Calling it a fight for development and progress, Deputy CM
Sushil Modi thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the timely imposition of
the lockdown and saving thousands of lives.
Amit Shah was called “shaurya purush” for uniting the
nation.
Leaders from the state in the Central Government and the
organisation were also present at the virtual rally.
The rally, held ahead of the assembly elections, marks the
beginning of the BJP campaign in Bihar, where elections are due later this
year. It remains to be seen whether the elections would be held as per the
schedule. The party leadership says it is prepared whenever they are held.
The party has received criticism over plight and sufferings
of migrants following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-hour notice for a
country-wide lockdown.
In a world struggling with the new challenge of COVID-19
pandemic, the digital/virtual saffron rally marked the commencement of the new
form of electioneering and its campaign for the crucial polls.
Senior BJP leaders, including party president JP Nadda, will
be using the virtual platform to reach out to the voters in days to come.
While the BJP appears well prepared to handle the new
situation and challenges it brings, rivals fear digital/virtual campaigns could
end up favouring the saffron party given its well-oiled IT cell, social media
teams and experience of high-tech electioneering in past.
Going virtual and digital for the month-long activities to
mark the completion of one year of Narendra Modi government 2.0, the BJP will
be relying majorly on new forms of ‘samvaad’ (communication) in its campaign
for the Bihar elections.
Sources indicate that the party had already started
identifying prominent persons in the constituencies, who can spread the message
to the grassroots in times when large gatherings, rallies and corner meetings
may no longer be the order of the day.
“‘Mandals’ have been
asked to identify people who can act as a bridge and influence voters and with
whom the leadership from the state and the national-level can directly communicate
to ascertain the ground situation,” the sources said.
No comments:
Post a Comment