Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Bhopal to mark the culmination of the BJP’s Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Madhya Pradesh ended up being a Modi show all the way.
Though prominent leaders, including Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Prahlad Singh Patel, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Virendra Kumar Khatik, were present on the stage, Chouhan was the only one to address the crowd after Modi’s arrival. The speech was an exercise in brevity and ended quickly.
Tomar and Khatik had spoken briefly when the PM was about to arrive. The other ministers sat on the stage but did not speak.
The crowd rose to its feet when Modi arrived at the Jamboree Maidan in Bhopal. He first paid floral tributes to former Jana Sangh president Deen Dayal Upadhyaya — the workers’ congregation coincided with his birth anniversary — and Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
The Prime Minister’s connection with the workers was instant and direct. Significantly, he chose to begin his speech addressing ‘those present on stage and my family members in the crowd’, without mentioning the name of either Chouhan or any of the ministers present there. He repeatedly addressed the party workers as ‘parivarjan (family members)’.
Mentioning himself by name multiple times, Modi told the crowd that his government had lifted 13.5-crore people out of poverty. ‘This is the result of Modi’s guarantee. When Modi and BJP guarantee something, it reaches the ground,’ the PM said. ‘Modi yaani har guarantee poori hone ki guarantee (Modi means the guarantee of every guarantee being fulfilled).’
He said his government has fulfilled the promise of women’s reservation in Lok Sabha and state Assemblies and cautioned women not to be ‘misled’ by the Opposition alliance, constituents of which had ‘blocked women’s reservation for decades by causing disruption in Parliament’ whenever the Bill was brought in.
‘Modi’s mehnat (hard work) and mission are different (from others). Nothing is above the nation for me. I won’t let countrymen live in penury… The Congress also had the opportunity but the intent was not there,’ the Prime Minister said.
Later, as the PM’s speech ended, a song blared from the mic: ‘MP ke dil mein Modi Modi; Modi ke dil mein MP MP (Modi is in MP’s heart; MP is in Modi’s heart).’
When the Prime Minister entered the venue around 11.30 am, he drove in, with Chouhan behind him, in an open vehicle, waving to the cheering crowds of party workers.
Chouhan also began his speech by showering praise on Modi. ‘The Prime Minister started the new Parliament building on Ganesh Chaturthi and steered the Bill paving way for women’s reservation. Chandrayan-3 was successfully launched. In the G20 Summit hosted in Delhi, Bharat led the world with the motto of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is a family),’ the Chief Minister said. ‘God sends some people to do great things for the world. God has sent Modi-ji for this purpose.’
He blamed the previous Kamal Nath government in MP for purportedly not implementing Central schemes, and added that his government was doing a ‘good job’ on this count. Requesting people to vote for the BJP in the coming Assembly polls, Chouhan also asked them to give all 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state to the BJP in 2024.
‘Last time we got 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats. This time let us take a pledge (to get all 29),’ the Chief Minister said.
