Patna, Aug. 31: The size of a rally at Gandhi Maidan is no indicator of public support, say veterans, though parties are obsessed with such figures and even jack them up.
Take Sunday's Swabhiman Rally. BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi says there were just 50,000 people while alliance leaders say there were one million people. Even as the rally was on, Union minister Giriraj Singh tweeted photographs of Gandhi Maidan and juxtaposed them with those of the Hunkar Rally Narendra Modi addressed in 2013.
"Political parties think the crowds brought to rallies in Gandhi Maidan are an indicator of the support they enjoy at the grassroots. But I think the rallies held in Gandhi Maidan have long ceased to reflect popular mood. Rallies today depend on the resources you pump in, the number of vehicles that are pushed into service and arrangements made for fooding and lodging for participants," said veteran politician Shivanand Tiwari.
Tiwari, whose father late Ramanand Tiwari was a legendary socialist leader, came to Patna for the first time in 1952 and recalls his experience with Gandhi Maidan rallies of 1954. "I recall people coming to Patna on foot from far-flung districts like Chaibasa (now in Jharkhand) and Madhubani, walking for over 10 days. Today, nobody will come to Gandhi Maidan unless they are provided vehicles, food, accommodation, and, sometimes, even money. This is true of all parties holding rallies in Gandhi Maidan," he said.
Lalu Prasad held some of the biggest rallies at Gandhi Maidan in the 1990s. The term "Raila" was coined for these rallies. Friend-turned-foe and former JDU MP Ranjan Prasad Yadav used to play a key role in organising these rallies - Gareeb Raila, Sadbhawana Raila and Lathi Raila. All of them saw massive turnout, figures no rally after 2000 was able to surpass.
"During the first three rallies, we did not have to make arrangements to bring in the crowds. People came on their own. However, as Lalu's popularity dipped, the crowds had to be brought in and arrangements had to be made for their food and accommodation. Sometimes, even dance girls were used to lure the crowds," said Ranjan, trying to stress that the size of the crowd at Gandhi Maidan does not translate into votes.
"Or else, why are Lalu's family members losing in Yadav-dominated areas and people like Nand Kishore Yadav, Ram Kripal Yadav and me winning there," he said.
The timing of a rally also impacts crowd size. The Swabhiman Rally was held days before the Election Commission announces the Assembly elections and parties are still in the process of selecting candidates who will contest. So, ticket-seekers were working overtime to bring in the crowds and show their strength before leaders who can ensure they get tickets to contest. "Had there been no elections, I doubt the crowd would have been half its size," conceded a JDU leader.
In the 1970s and 1980s, when the CPI was a force in Bihar, they organised several huge rallies in Gandhi Maidan. As chief minister Jagannath Mishra got a survey done on how much crowd the maidan could hold - presuming that one person occupied 2sqft of space, and arrived at less than 2.5 lakh. But political parties keep claiming there were over five lakh participants. So, the figure is not relevant any more. The real fight still lies at the grassroots," said a senior BJP leader.
