Kolkata: The opposition from across the country gathered in Kolkata on Saturday to mark their presence in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s mega rally which is said to be the largest opposition rally ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
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Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, DMK chief MK Stalin, former BJP leader Arun Shourie, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief Sharad Yadav and Nationalist Congress Party head Sharad Pawar are in the mega rally.
Top political leaders from various political parties are on the stage — called the ‘United India Rally’ — aimed at uniting opposition parties against the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Here are the quick takeaways:
– Though Congress President Rahul Gandhi will not be attending the rally, he wrote a letter to Mamata Banerjee on Friday extending his support to the ‘United India Rally’.
– Leaders like Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and Farooq Abdullah are on the stage in the mega opposition rally.
– NCP leader Sharad Pawar, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Praful Patel, former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Singa also graced their presence in the mega rally.
“This is not about removing one man from power. We have come together to defeat an ideology,” Yashwant Sinha said while addressing the rally.
– According to reports, five massive stages have been put up with the iconic Victoria Memorial in the background, 20 LED screens and scores of Trinamool Congress flags fluttering in the breeze at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.
– Brigade Parade Ground can hold around seven lakh people. However, the Trinamool Congress has claimed that 40 lakh people will attend what could well be the biggest political rally of the century.