Kolkata is riding the saffron wave after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 206 out of 293 seats, defeating the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress. But the ride, on Tuesday (May 5), may not be smooth for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
On Monday, the city saw a surge in BJP workers and supporters celebrating on the streets with orange abir, and Jai Shree Ram chants, reminiscent of the Ram Navami rallies along the BT road stretch. Though the Election Commission had put severe restrictions on rallies on May 4 (counting day), Kolkata saw groups of saffron supporters taking to the streets.
Across the city, the polling centres are still under restricted traffic control.
“The counting centres have a 200-metre barricade mark, but we do not think that will be a problem for the commuters,” informed Lal Bazar traffic control.
There are various victory rallies scheduled for around 4pm in north Kolkata, which the authorities have been informed about. But the number of people, or the duration of the rallies are still unclear to the police and public.
“We have been informed that rallies will be happening at 4pm. If there’s few people, they will proceed from the side of the road, but if the number climbs steadily above 1,000, traffic has to be diverted,” added Lalbazar.
BJP’s Purnima Chakraborty in a briefing said the party will host a victory rally from the Shyampukur constituency. Chakraborty defeated Shashi Panja by 14,633 votes.
The rally is scheduled to start from 4pm at the Binani Bhavan, Pathuriaghata street. Various other rallies have been planned by the BJP across the city to celebrate the landslide victory.