Preparations in full swing at the Maidan for Saturday’s oath-taking ceremony
KOLKATA: The Brigade Parade Ground is set to don a carnivalesque look on Saturday, the day Bengal’s first BJP chief minister takes his oath.
As party functionaries and workers get cracking on the preparations, massive waterproof, hangar tents are being set up to seat 50,000 people, 10,000 special invites are being sent out and work is on to erect 20 district-wise themed entrances as well as stalls, selling jhalmuri, rasagolla and sandesh. Party functionaries expect close to 1 lakh people at the open-air, grand oath-taking event, which will also showcase Bengal’s culture and tradition, complete with chhau, gamira and baul performances, terracotta and Dakshineswar and Kali temple-inspired installations, and Sundarbans-themed decorations. Given the rain prediction for Saturday, BJP officials said there would be three, large, rainproof tents, spread over a 400-sqm area, all facing Victoria Memorial. Around 4,000 police personnel will be deployed in and around the Maidan to maintain law and order. The ground is being earmarked into 30 sectors, each to be overseen by a DCP or ACP-rank officer. The programme is slated to start at 10 am but invitees and party workers are expected to start arriving early in the morning.
It will be a one-of-a-kind event that Kolkata will remember for generations,” said Manoj Pandey, a BJP functionary, in charge of the arrangements. The entire portion will be covered to ensure guests and performers do not get drenched in the rain,” said another BJP functionary. Photos of Bengali icons, including Tagore and Bankimchandra, will be put up. “The Trinamool tried to label us anti-Bengali. We will show them how much we love and respect Bengali culture. The main dais, to be divided into three parts, will be built in front of the middle tent. “As the oath-taking ceremony is being held on Rabindra Jayanti, Rabindrasangeet will play in the background. At the same time, there will be special musical performances at different corners of the venue.
“In the first segment of the dais, PM Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah will sit with the chief ministers of 21 states. The governor will sit in the second segment, next to an oath podium and a table, where the new CM and the council of ministers will sign the documents. In the third segment, the CM-designate will sit with the council of ministers,” said another BJP functionary, overseeing the preparations, on Thursday.