Forget 50,000 Dalits, BJP's Yatra fails to attract 500; Amit Shah escapes

Agra, Aug 1: The Uttar Pradesh unit of Bharatiya Janata Party is in shock after its much hyped Dhamma Chetna Yatra failed to draw even 500 Dalit supporters in the city of Agra. In fact, the saffron party had expected 50,000 supporters to welcome the Yatra which entered the city on Sunday.

The welcome function, which was earlier scheduled to be held at one of city's the biggest grounds, was shifted to Saraswati Shishu Mandir after the party realised that the number of participants including outsiders will not exceed 400.

BJP supremo escapes

This forced BJP chief Amit Shah, who was earlier scheduled to address the event, to cancel his plan. Mr Shah's rally was aimed at targeting the OBCs and Dalits by focusing on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's messages for the community and his views on Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

While local BJP leaders claim that the "inclement weather" has forced them to cancel Mr Shah's rally, insiders admit that the real reason behind it is the lacklustre response it received from the Dalit community and also the looming threat of protests against the chetna yatra in the city. The yatra had earlier faced opposition on its arrival in Hathras, Aligarh and Mathura.

Street beggars invited to fill the hall!

Even after shifting the venue, the BJP members failed to fill the hall of the small school located in the Agra's Kamla Nagar area.

“It was quite shocking that most people in the hall were either monks or BJP workers. They even called street children and beggars to the venue as the older audience wasn't available,” said an eyewitness, who stays in Kamla Nagar and attended the event.

While party workers were busy in clicking selfies, the monks present were either asleep or least interested in what the political leaders had to say.