LK Advani’s Pune-made 'rath' ready to roll by October 7

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani’s much-touted nationwide Jana Chetana Rathyatra starting on October 11, has a strong Pune connection.

The chariot that Advani would be using is being made in a workshop in Chinchwad. It is being readied in the workshop of Dilip Chhabria Design Pvt Ltd, which has been commissioned to construct the rath.

Office-bearers of the Pimpri-Chinchwad unit of the party stated that the rath would be unveiled on October 7 to the media. Also, the party has asked the company not to talk to the media before October 7.

When DNA tried to talk to Chhabria about the rath, he said, “We will only allow the media after permission from the party leaders.”
This is the second time Chhabria has fashioned a rath for the BJP leader. The company had made a Rs20-lakh rath for Advani earlier, with an air-conditioned restroom, a public address system and a satellite TV system.

BJP city unit president Eknath Pawar said as there was little time left to complete the work on the chariot, the staff in the workshop were working overtime. Advani’s secretarial staff is likely to come to Chinchwad on Thursday to inspect the work. BJP sources said the chariot has been made out of a Volvo bus with the  facility of a public broadcast system, a bedroom and a mini-conference hall.