The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
To repeat 2014 success, BJP brings out ‘lucky’ chair for Modi in Kanpur
KISSA KURSI KA
COME DECEMBER 19, the BJP will offer Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “lucky chair” to sit on the stage during his rally in Kanpur.
The reason: Modi had sat on the wooden chair when he launched his campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by addressing the first ‘Vijay Sankhnad’ rally in Kanpur on October 19, 2013. The rally was his first pre-poll election meeting in Uttar Pradesh as the BJP’S PM candidate. Later, the BJP went on to win 71 out of 80 seats in the elections.
BJP leaders in Kanpur had preserved the chair in a specially-designed glass chamber — kept in the party’s district office for the last three years.
The glass tumbler from which Modi had drank water during the rally and a paper box containing Kanpur’s famous ‘Thaggu ke laddu’, which was offered to him, have also been preserved in the chamber.
To keep the chair safe for a long time, the party had purchased unbreakable glass from Delhi. It was used to make a box of 6 feet/5.5 feet (length) box with a width of 3 feet.
Soonafterthescheduleforthe PM’S December 19 rally was decided, the chair was cleaned and polished and placed in the hall of the local party office, where leaders are holding meetings regarding the public meeting.
When contacted, BJP district president Surendra Maithani said: “This is the first time that Modiji will come to Kanpur as the PM. The workers believe that the chair is lucky for the party. When it was used by Modiji in the first ‘Vijay Sakhnad’ rally in UP, the party had recorded a thumping victory in the Lok Sabha elections. We believe that if the PM sits on the chair again at the ‘Parivartan Yarta’ rally, it will bring positive change for the party in 2017 elections and BJP will win the most number of seats.”
“We do not need to obtain clearance from the SPG or any other authority to put the chair on the stage, as the local party unit is making the arrangements on the stage. After the rally, the chair will again be locked in the glass chamber in the party office,” he added.
The party plans to gather a crowd of at least five lakh for the rally, which will be held at the Railways Ground in Nirala Nagar. It plans to mobilise people from 14 Assembly segments of Kanpur and its adjoining districts.
On Thursday, BJP leaders offered prayers at the ground to begin preparations for the rally. Party workers are distributing invitation cards to the youth by visiting medical colleges, Iitkanpur, engineering and degree colleges and coaching centres.