Delhi polls: BJP launches blitzkrieg of public meetings across city

New Delhi: The BJP on Monday launched a blitzkrieg ahead of Delhi Assembly elections holding around 90 public meetings across the city.

Among the Union Ministers who addressed the meetings were Maneka Gandhi, Najma Heptullah, Kalraj Mishra and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti whose hate speech a week ago at a party rally had triggered a storm.

Besides the Ministers, scores of party MPs and Delhi BJP leaders addressed the meetings.

This is for the first time BJP has organised such a large number of public meetings across the city on a single-day which were aimed at galvanising the party at the grass-root level.

BJP president Amit Shah had last month, in a brain-storming session, directed the party’s Delhi unit to involve around 300 party MPs in campaigning for the upcoming assembly polls in the city.

In their addresses, the Union Minister and MPs today largely confined themselves on issues relating to water, electricity and development.

“It was a massive exercise. We are now fully geared up for the election. More rallies and street corner meetings will be held in the coming days,” said a senior leader of the party.

In her address at a rally in Trilokpuri area, Jyoti refrained from making any controversial comments and restricted herself to attacking Aam Aadmi Party and Congress.

Jyoti had stoked a controversy by allegedly asking voters to elect sons of Lord Ram and not “illegitimate sons” at a BJP rally in Dwarka on Monday last, leaving the party and the government embarrassed.

Slamming AAP, Jyoti said that “before forming government (in Delhi) they sought suggestions of the masses on the government formation..but why they didn’t adopt the same way when they were to resign from the government.”

The minister said Delhiites are facing the burden of another elections in within an year because AAP “ran away” from their responsibilities.

Targeting Congress, Jyoti said those who could not give the “details of 60 years, are now seeking account of the last six months of our government.”

Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, she said “spending night at a jhuggi cannot make one realise the poverty, what poor people have to face everyday.”

In her address at a rally in Rithala, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi announced setting up of women cells for providing security to the fairer sex.

Expressing anguish over rape of a 27 year-old woman, Gandhi said the need of the hour was to increase vigilance.

“We all need to pitch in for making an environment safe for women. I strongly condemn incidents of violence against women,” she said addressing a rally organised by BJP.

PTI