Madhya Pradesh: BJP’s ‘Karyakarta Mahakumbh’ turnout below expectations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah personally addressed the party’s ‘Karyakarta Mahakumbh’ on September 25, in Bhopal. The event was indeed a huge affair, but reportedly fell short by half the target set by the BJP, of getting 10 lakh party workers to attend. However, the target could not be achieved and only 5 lakh workers turned up. One of the factors behind this was apparently the refusal of bus operators to make buses available, because they are already owed crores of rupees for carrying people to various programmes.

Expecting a massive turnout, the party brought in chairs from neighbouring states. Ten huge tents had been erected as dining halls with the capacity to serve meals to 20,000 party workers at the same time. The menu was reportedly worthy of a welcoming a baraat (members of marriage party).

Star attraction Narendra Modi showered generous praise on Shivraj Singh Chouhan, almost assuring him of a fourth term as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. This must have been music to Chouhan’s ears, given the recent stone-pelting of his convoy at different places in the state. Praising Chouhan, Modi claimed that under his leadership, MP had topped in sanitation, farming and roads.

Besides Modi and Amit Shah, Chouhan and Uma Bharti also addressed the gathering. The presence of Uma Bharti and Babulal Gaur, both former chief ministers, on the dais came as a surprise to everyone. Uma Bharti, who was instrumental in ousting the Digvijaya Singh government and leading BJP to a win in 2003, has rarely shared a public platform with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party functionaries in the recent past.

Seeking to put all speculations to rest, Bharti said she had come on the personal invite by Shivraj Singh Chouhan “On getting the invite I called up the chief minister and said whether my presence would help the party in Madhya Pradesh, as I am a member of Parliament from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh. He told me it will help the party so I decided to come”.

Babulal Gaur was not given any prominence in the party programmes after he was asked to step down as chief minister. Modi while shaking hands with Gaur commented, “Gaur abki baar aur” (Gaur, another term to you). Gaur, 88, has expressed his desire to contest the assembly elections

Despite the high profile show, Congress launched a blistering attack on the BJP by describing the event as totally supported by the state government. The event also allegedly received a helping hand from the BJP-controlled Bhopal Corporation. It was alleged that the Municipal Corporation bought drinking water, including water pouches and bottles, at a cost of ₹53 lakh for the Karyakarta Mahakumbh. It has been reported that ₹15 lakh was spent just on procuring buckets and mugs.