Opposition Rally in Kolkata: The Crowd does not Approach the 50 lakh Mark as it is Projected, Many remain Halfway

After a massive build-up created over several weeks during participation in the United India rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Calcutta, the final count of the crowd was far from what the Trinamool Congress party had projected and failed to impress the political veterans, reports DNA.

The exaggerated meeting of the Brigade has been in the headlines for quite some time, as the supreme TMC along with the leaders of Congress, TDP, SP, RJD, NC and AAP are designing a united opposition to call for the expulsion of the BJP. He led the NDA coalition government in the center in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019.

Veteran political observers said that although the turnout was impressive, it was not a “historic” one as TMC wanted.

“Because of the way it was projected, we thought that even the lanes adjacent to the ground would be stuck, but nothing happened like that.” The meeting was less than 10 lakhs and nowhere near the 50 lakh mark. The capacity of Brigade Parade Ground is 3.5 lakh and it was probably full, “said a senior police officer who prefers anonymity.

The spectators had begun to leave the ground halfway in numbers so large that the Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, had to intervene by asking them to stay behind. “No vehicle will leave before 4 pm. You sit down and listen to all the leaders. Let them know how disciplined you are, “said Mamata.

Most people from remote districts felt disconnected when Karnataka CM, HD Kumaraswamy, started speaking in English and started to leave the ground.

The people who left said they could not understand anything. “Some of the leaders are speaking in English, of which we have no idea. “Some are speaking in Tamil, which is translating strangely and there are some leaders who speak Hindi, but because of the age at which they are incomprehensible,” said Ramesh Kundu, who came from District 24 of Parganas.

Mamata, who was anchoring the event, said: “There are 6-7 more speakers and then I will speak at the end.” But, unfortunately, while Mamata’s speech was on almost half the ground, he had left the place.

The previous Mamata government in its animosity towards the BJP had refused to give permission to BJP’s Rath Yatra citing threats of “communal disharmony” in the state.

BJP had planned three large rallies from different parts of West Bengal, touring the state’s 42 constituencies for a month and a half to protest against the Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee.

After he was denied permission, the BJP decided to raise awareness and decided to organize “padyatras” instead.