Mumbai
Updated : Nov 01, 2014, 07:32 AM IST
Utter chaos and mismanagement reigned at Wankhede stadium on Friday during the swearing-in ceremony. BJP leaders involved in the management claimed they had asked for 45,000 passes and the police allowed only 30,000 senior BJP leaders, who did not get expected number of passes for their supporters.
More than 2,000 people were left standing on the ground inside the stadium, besides the 5,000-odd outside. "We wanted to print 45,000 passes as we had an idea about the number of supporters and the requirement of the entry cards. However, the police had turned down the request. Each of the leaders was intimated about the inconvenience," said a leader.
Several senior leaders pointed out that Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, who was entrusted with the overall responsibility of the ceremony's management, had kept most of the passes with him and denied others the privilege. However, Shelar refuted the allegation saying though he was overall in-charge of the ceremony, passes were distributed by other leaders.
When called at his office, his personal staff said they too had to stay away from the ceremony. "The Mumbai BJP chief had asked for 100 passes, but we received only 25. He was busy for the past few days and was spending almost the entire day at the stadium. He was not even involved in the pass issue," said a staffer from BJP's Dadar office.
A senior BJP leader insisted that the coterie of leaders involved in the arrangements ensured that others' supporters are not in the stadium. Also, many celebrities who were given passes didn't show up. However, this allegation too was countered by the BJP staff. "Even when these people were not present, the crowd in the stadium was beyond capacity," said the leader.