‘Only few hours to go’, tweets Mamata Banerjee before mega rally

With BJP’s recent defeats in Assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee has raised the pitch to be united against the saffron party in the 2019 general election.
KOLKATA: More than 20 national leaders have converged in Kolkata for the mega Opposition rally organised by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee against the Narendra Modi government. Those attending the rally include former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Arun Shourie; three present chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu and HD Kumaraswamy; and former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, and Gegong Apang.
With Bharatiya Janata Party’s recent defeats in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Banerjee has raised the pitch to be united against the saffron party in the 2019 general election.
– Union Minister Babul Supriyo lashes out at Mamata for harassing the general public on account of the rally. “By putting the traffic on stand still & harassing the general public, TMC wants to stand up for the state’s well fare? How ironical! I urge all to share their today’s traffic woes,” he tweeted.
– Mamata Banerjee arrives for the ‘United India’ opposition rally at Brigate parade grounds.
– BJP on Saturday mocked TMC’s opposition rally, saying the leaders who have individually faced defeat are now coming together to try their luck.
– Ahead of the rally, Mamata tweeted: “Only few hours to go for the historic ‘United India Rally’ at Brigade Parade Grounds. I welcome all national leaders, supporters and lakhs of people to participate in today’s rally to pledge to build a stronger, progressive and united India #UnitedIndiaAtBrigade”.
– Massive preparations have been made to ensure that the event is a success. Besides the huge stages that have been made for the event, 20 watch towers have been erected and 1,000 microphones and 30 LED screens put up so that the spectators can see and hear the speeches of the leaders clearly.
– Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati will not attend the rally, but senior leader of her party Satish Chandra Mishra will be present on her behalf.