BJP to launch its 2014 campaign with Modi's rally - Shimla Now

BJP will start its campaign in Himachal Pradesh for the 2014 general elections with a rally by its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at Sujanpur town of Hamirpur district on February 16. The party hopes to get about 2 lakh participants to the rally to build the momentum for Modi.

So far the biggest ever BJP rally was held in Hamirpur around four years back when approximately 40,000 people had attended Rajnath Singh's convention. Modi's rally is being seen as a reply to December 25 rally of the ruling Congress at Hamirpur.

As Congress seeks to wrest the Hamirpur parliamentary seat from BJP, the party will try to consolidate its position as sitting MP Anurag Thakur, who is the outfit's national youth wing chief, will be the most likely candidate. In its December 25 rally, Congress had managed an impressive crowd in BJP's bastion Hamirpur from where chief minister Virbhadra Singh had launched an attack on leader of opposition Prem Kumar Dhumal. "Modi's rally will send a message to Congress that people in the hill state are fed up with the failure of the government in ensuring development during its one-year rule," said Dhumal.

State BJP president Satpal Singh Satti said a target of over 2 lakh crowd has been set. "We have decided that minimum 30 people from each polling booth will be brought to Sujanpur rally. We have 7,280 booths in Himachal Pradesh. The rally is going to be historic," he said.