Modi to address Bihari sammelan in Surat on May 6; Telegu, Marathi, Rajasthani & Koli sammelans also on cards.
In the run up to the elections, Gujarat’s poll handi seems to be dishing out community flavours. And the BJP workers in Gujarat’s ‘Mini Bharat’ - Surat seems to be adapting itself quite merrily to the piquant taste.
But as they say, variety only adds more spice to the ‘poll’ pot, hopes of finding a rich flavour in the migrant votebank have taken the party hunting in different state communities now. The successful congregation of Patidars and the Brahmins has egged their efforts and this time it’s Bihar and Jharkhand’s turn. The states which boast of having a migrant population of more than 4 lakh in Surat will organize a community gathering on May 6. Termed as an apolitical meet, chief minister Narendra Modi will, however, grace the meet as the chief guest.
The event, which is being organised by a newly formed organisation, the Bihar Jharkhand Seva Samithi, will be held at the BRC ground in Udhna. “CM Modi is visiting Surat on May 6, to attend Bihari samelan and address community people. We have received confirmation from CMO office and function is final,” Purnesh Modi, president of Surat BJP, said. Modi added that one more programme is scheduled on the same day, but details of it are not released by CMO yet.
Another BJP leader said, on condition of anonymity, however, added: “The samelan is planned to show top party leaders that apart from Patidar, Brahmins and locals, there are other communities as well having good number of voters. There is no objective of bringing these people to party neither any attempts are made to bridge gap between these people.”
Though, these meets are termed non-political, it is turning to be litmus test for organizing leaders of both communities which has created a rift among the BJP leaders. While a fraction supports the meet, others have distanced themselves from it. A few North Indian BJP leaders are working back doors for the Samithi and have reportedly been urging all voters belonging to these two states, to remain present in meet. While they are terming the activity as uniting all voters of the community, while the other faction claims that it is just a number game, meant to please the CM. This is because majority of population belonging to these states, live six months in state and six months in Gujarat.
Sources within BJP also said that this will soon be followed by a Telugu community sanmelan organised by Telugu Foundation at Parvat Patia. The programme is organized by Telugu leaders of BJP, who feel that party should pay importance to its community people. However, organisers refute claims that the meet is politically coloured and say that it merely coincided with Modi’s visit to the city. Apart from samelans, Modi is also expected to meet few community leaders at Circuit House in Surat. Jagad Guru Shankracharya is expected to remain present in the samelan.
On the other hand, Surat has 2 lakh Telugu voters, which may change equations during elections. In the meeting, which has been kept as a secret, Modi is expected to discuss policy for coming assembly elections. Three more samelans are on the cards - a Koli sanmelan, Marathi sanmelan and Rajasthani sanmelan. Surat BJP is in talks with leaders of these communities for organsing these samelans.
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