15: 15 hours: Their secularism Vs Our secularism.
People are complaining about electricity, about employment, people are demanding water for their fields -- for everything, the solution that parties that have ruled Uttar Pradesh is secularism, Modi alleges. "The Muslim man is nothing more than one vote for these parties that shout from the rooftops about secularism," he says.
While the number of applicants for the annual Haj yatra subsidy far outstrips the available quota, while Uttar Pradesh, with its 32,000-strong quota for the Haj travel sees barely about 35,000 applicants every year. "If Muslims were better off , more of them would apply," Modi says.
That opens up the floodgates -- he has a comparison between "their secularism" and "our secularism". While the so-called secular parties believe secularism is a votebank, ours believes in India first; he says. "Theirs believes in divide and rule, ours is to join people. Theirs is a election slogan, for us it is an article of faith."
Having mocked Sriprakash Jaiswal earlier over the coal scam, Modi also hits out at Union Minister Salman Khurshid who called him "impotent". "The minister travels around the world, but cheats the disabled," Modi says, a reference to an NGO for disabled people run by Khurshid's wife, which faced allegations of misappropriation of funds.
15:07 hours: Samajwadi Party govt has no time for development, only for votebank politics
The Samajwadi Party government wanted not only lions from Gujarat, they also wanted Amul, Modi tells the crowd. The silk saree of Benares, the carpet of Mirzapur, the leather of Kanpur, the locks of Aligarh, the shoes of Agra -- nothing has been done for these brands that could be great winning ideas for Uttar Pradesh. "But the Samajwadi Party government is so caught up with its votebank politics that it has no time for these concepts," Modi charges.
He cites the example of the kite-manufacturing industry of Gujarat, a traditional occupation of poor Muslim artisans. It was a Rs 35 crore to Rs 40 crore industry when Modi took charge as chief minister, he says. "We have breathed life into this kite industry too -- it is now a Rs 500-crore industry."
15:00 hours: First target is Samajwadi Party and Netaji as Modi begins speech
The BJP's route to Delhi will have to be through Uttar Pradesh -- that's a point often repeated by psephologists, media, politicians and others. Modi says as much today. Only, he attributes it to Vajpayee, who had once said the road to Delhi passes through Lucknow.
With its 80 Lok Sabha seats, a stellar performance in the northern state will give the BJP the fillip it needs to inch closer to the 272 mark in Lok Sabha.
He takes a dig at Mulayam Singh Yadav, who had a rally in Allahabad barely an hour ago. "Netaji says Modi should not compete on the subject of the size of crowds at a rally -- this means Netaji has admitted defeat," Modi says. That Mulayam has also had to give up the politics of votebanks and talk about development in his speech today is another indication of the Samajwadi Party having accepted vanquishment, Modi continues.
As the crowds squeal every time he refers to the wrestler-turned politician as 'Netaji', Modi continues to take offence at the UP government's comparisons with Gujarat. "Gujarat gets 24 x 7 electricity, 365 days a year Netaji," he drawls. No riots, no curfew, well in control crime, he rattles off, in comparison to the 100-plus riots only since Akhilesh Yadav took charge as chief minister .
The country does not accept the rule of goondagardi, he tells Netaji.
14:45 hours: Each of the eight rallies has been better than the previous , says Modi
It's a sea of saffron I can see, the Gujarat chief minister says. "And the heat of the election is still to begin. But before that, this popular support is an indication that there is a BJP storm coming."
14:40 hours: Kalyan Singh welcomed into BJP, he pays Rs 5 membership fee
Before he ends, Rajnath Singh welcomes Kalyan Singh back into the BJP. "I assure you he will not just be a member of the party -- he will be given some big responsibility," Singh says, waving a five-rupee coin that Kalyan Singh has paid as membership fee.
14:30 hours: Even a diamond has to go through pain to get its shine: Rajnath
Rajnath Singh, having made an impassioned plea to Muslims only last week to give the BJP "one chance at least", is making a case for Narendra Modi as the wronged victim of wilful politicla vilification. "No political leader has been wrongly targeted as much as Narendra Modi has," he says.
"But even a diamond has to go through so many processes before it gets its shine," he says.
14:10 hours: Murli Manohar Joshi, tipped to vacate his Varanasi seat for Modi, speaks
Narendra Modi, accompanied by BJP President Rajnath Singh, are at the venue. The dais is busy with floral tributes, two separate giant garlands from different units of the BJP have been presented to the two leaders.
The crowd is cheering Modi, but other speeches are yet to conclude. Speaking next is Varanasi MP Murli Manohar Joshi, who is tipped as being among those likely to step aside if Modi wishes to contest from Uttar Pradesh.
"Congress, BJP, SP -- all mausere bhai (cousins)," he says, before launching into an attack on the series of corruption scandals that have hit the UPA-2 regime. .
13.50 hours: Modi's chopper draws the attention of cheering crowds
All eyes are on a bright red helicopter making its way to the venue. Senior leader Uma Bharati is speaking: "You have to look at me," she pleads. "Modiji will be arriving here shortly anyway," she says.
The speaker on the dais continues about the grain at Re 1 per kilo, but nobody is paying much attention. "You're not listening to me," she chides. "You have to look at me. I will leave as soon as I finish my speech."
13.20 hours: "Visionary, loh purush, vikas purush will be PM,' says Kalyan Singh
Kalyan Singh is introduced as the man who promised to give up his life in the service of Lord Ram, who would not give up his commitment to his principles on the subject. Expectedly, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh starts his speech with a 'Jai Shri Ram, Jai Jai Shri Ram'.
Parties with just nine seats from UP in Lok Sabha are dreaming of the PM's seat, he drawls. "But the people of the country have decided. It will be a visionary, the Loh Purush, the Vikas Purush, who will occupy that seat," he continues.
13.10 hours: Gen V K Singh, Dr Udit Raj address crowds
Former Army chief General V K Singh, one of the BJP's newest members and expected to be given a ticket from Rajasthan, is now addressing the crowd. He starts with the refrain made familiar by Modi: "Bharat Mata Ki Jai", and then also the one used by the Aam Aadmi Party, for good measure: "Inquilab Zindabad!"
The crowd is restive, a few lakh people are present and Dalit leader Dr Udit Raj has already spoken.
"Make sure you go home and get as many people as you can to promise to cast their vote," Gen Singh says.
12.50 pm: Congress questions source of funds for rallies
Meanwhile, amid meticulous preparations for the lakhs expected to attend the Modi rally in Lucknow today, the Congress has alleged that the BJP has spent about Rs 320 crore for the Gujarat chief minister's rallies in Uttar Pradesh alone.
"BJP which has claimed that it has made elaborate arrangements, including that of transportation, lodging, food, campaign and other arrangements, must tell that from where these funds are being arranged," senior Congress leader and MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh told PTI.
Singh alleged that 29 trains have been arranged for Modi's rally in Lucknow today which would themselves cost around Rs 5 crore.
12.20 pm: Modi's speech in Lucknow about to begin
The backdrop of the stage where the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will shortly address what is being pegged as a likely record turnout of supporters in Lucknow has a giant photograph of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. A departure from the more common backdrops featuring a phalanx of either freedom fighters former or current leaders, the symbolism of the Lucknow rally's stage decor is not to be missed.
BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. PTI
Lucknow, the Lok Sabha constituency formerly represented by Vajpayee, has been plastered with posters and banners of Modi, who is not expected to break the suspense on whether he may contest simultaneously from a seat in Uttar Pradesh just yet. But alongside the BJP's loh-purush, the local unit of the BJP appears to have been instructed to use Vajpayee's photographs liberally too.
This will be his eighth rally in Uttar Pradesh in the past few months, and DNA has reported that he has until now covered Kanpur, Jhansi, Bahraich, Agra, Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Meerut, all Parliamentary constituencies, until now.
The Indian Express reports that none of the previous UP rallies has had Vajpayee's photographs on the main stage backdrop, but state party president Laxmikant Bajpai said 345 hoardings and 1,500 cut-outs of "different leaders including Atal" will be used in Lucknow.
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