UP: BJP Celebrates Hindu Gaurav Diwas In Honour Of Kalyan Singh, 30+ Ministers To Be Present; Focus On 2024

On the occasion of the second death anniversary of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh seeks to showcase its full strength through 'Hindu Gaurav Diwas' event that is being observed in Singh's home district Aligarh on Monday (21August).

The programme, being held in the Numayish Maidan, is seeing the participation of more than 30 state and union ministers, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and State President Bhupendra Chaudhary.

Approximately 50,000 people from Aligarh and the neighbouring districts have been invited to attend.

Observers say that apart from the obvious Hindutva plank of the event, the programme will also see special focus of the BJP on the Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities, especially the Lodh.

The late Kalyan Singh's association with the Lodh community is a well-known fact. Many seats in western and central Uttar Pradesh have a considerable Lodh population, where the BJP has a strong foothold.

Although the publicly acknowledged agenda of the event is paying tribute to Kalyan Singh, political observers are also seeing the event in connection with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

After relinquishing power for the Ram Mandir, Kalyan Singh (often referred to as Babu Ji) gained recognition as Hindu icon. Even after his demise on 21 August 2021, the echoes of "Jai Shri Ram" resounded in the crowd paying their last respects.

During the final rites, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath remained present from Lucknow to Atrauli.

The first death anniversary of Kalyan Singh was commemorated in Lucknow.

The BJP continues to receive support from Lodh voters and the current event is being seen as an occasion to consolidate the same.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav has formulated the PDA (Picchda-Dalit-Alpasankhyak) formula to unite backward classes, Dalits, and minorities. This strategy is seen as the SP's counter to the BJP's consolidation.

Cabinet ministers including Jai Veer Singh (Tourism and Culture), Baby Rani Maurya (Women's Welfare, Child Development, and Nutrition), Swatantra Dev Singh (Minor Irrigation, Namami Gange, and Rural Water Supply), Kapil Dev Agrawal (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship), Vijay Laxmi Gautam (Rural Development and Integrated Rural Development), Manohar Lal (Labor and Service Schemes), Narendra Keshav (Backward Class Welfare and Divyang Empowerment), Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh (Medical Education and Health), Baldev Singh Aulakh (Agricultural Education and Research), Rajni Tiwari (Higher Education Department), Dinesh Pratap Singh (Horticultural Marketing, Agricultural Foreign Markets, and Agricultural Export), Dr. Arun Kumar Saksena (Forest, Environment, Animal Industry, and Climate Change), and State Government Minister Swatantra Prabhar J.P.S. Rathore, among others, will be present at the Aligarh event.