Guj BJP to mobilise crowd for roadshow

nNEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Gujarat started preparing for US President Donald Trump’s visit to Ahmedabad around February 10, a fortnight before his arrival. From Mehsana to Vadodara, they have mobilised party members and supporters to greet him and First Lady Melania Trump, and hired buses to ferry tens of thousands of people to Ahmedabad on February 24 for the Namaste Trump roadshow and event.

The US president has spoken about being greeted by 7 million people when he arrives in the Gujarat city, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Local BJP leaders say the crowd, while it will be substantial, will number hundreds of thousands, not millions. The population of Ahmedabad in the 2011 Census was 5.5 million.

The Motera, the largest cricket stadium in the world and the venue of the Namaste Trump rally, can accommodate 100,000120,000 people, said BJP spokesperson Krishan Singh Solanki.

“It is our privilege that he is flying directly to Ahmedabad and we would like to welcome him properly,’’ Solanki said.

Hundreds of thousands more are expected to line the 22-km route from the airport to Motera to wave to the US president en route. Tableaux of all of India’s 28 states will also line the route. Trump and his wife will be received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the airport.

The government, the Gujarat Cricket Association and the BJP have all been tasked with ensuring there are enough people along the route. Mukesh Dixit of the Vadodara unit of the BJP said that all of Ahmedabad’s corporators and all Gujarat MLAS have been given just one job--to manage the roadshow. “They have been given the job of managing the crowds outside,” he said.

Dixit is in charge of the buses for around 15,000 BJP members who will be ferried to the stadium at 6 am on February 24. For the state government, it is a major logistical challenge. These spectators will need to be securitycleared. “We have registered all those who will attend,’’ said Dixit.