HYDERABAD: “Modiji, aap sangharsh karo! Hum tumhare saath hai! (Modiji, go ahead with your struggle! We are with you!)” chanted members of the Mahila Morcha. The women, clad in saffron and green sarees, were eagerly waiting for the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at LB Stadium for the ‘BC Atma Gourava Sabha’ public meeting on Tuesday.
Members and supporters of the party had started pouring into the stadium hours before the prime minister was scheduled to arrive, exchanging pleasantries with acquaintances from the party cadre. However, it seemed that not everyone was welcome to see the prime minister.
“Dimag nahi hai? (Don’t you have brains?)” a senior police officer asked some vendors while they were being escorted out of the venue. Claiming their space in the political arena, women showed up in large numbers for the public meeting. “BJP will win. It’s a certainty!” said Sudha, a resident of Rajendra Nagar, and added the BRS does not stand a chance in the upcoming Assembly elections.
“I have been a supporter of the party for the past three years and I will be in the future as well,” Bhagyalakshmi, a resident of Rajendra Nagar, said with a big smile.
When asked what drew her to the saffron party, she said that unlike other parties, the BJP respects its female members.
One of the poll promises made by BJP State president G Kishan Reddy is the closure of all unauthorised liquor outlets, or what is colloquially known as “belt shops”. “Every rural area has six to seven belt shops. It is unsafe for women to travel in the midst of all the drunk men. If the shops are shut down, ladies will live happily,” said Bhagyalakshmi.
Bhagyalakshmi and her friends, who make sure to attend all the meetings of the national leader, were of the opinion that only the BJP can do justice to the backward classes of the State. “The BJP has promised a chief minister from the backward classes. Can the BRS promise that?” asked Shyamala.
“Talk to us also,” said Bhagya with a laugh. She was part of the medical team stationed at the stadium to attend to medical emergencies. Bhagya and her team have been at the stadium from 12 pm. They are expected to reach the venue at least two hours before such political meetings. When asked if they had lunch, she said, “That is why we bought samosas.”
When the PM finally arrived, the whole stadium reverberated with cheers and he was welcomed with a shower of marigold flowers. As he made his way onto the stage, chants of “Modi, Modi” echoed across the stadium.