Citing safety concerns and construction work at the venue, the Meghalaya government has denied permission to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a rally scheduled for Friday, February 24. The PA Sangma Stadium, which the Bharatiya Janata Party was trying to host an election rally in, is located in Chief Minister Conrad Sangma's home constituency South Tura.

The BJP and Sangma-led National People's Party (NPP) will go head to head at the upcoming assembly elections in Meghalaya on February 27. Results will be declared on March 2.

The sports department of Meghalaya cited ongoing construction work at the venue as the reason for the denial.

The BJP has expressed frustration with the decision and accused the ruling National People's Party (NPP) and other opposition parties of attempting to stifle the "BJP wave" in the state.

The PA Sangma Stadium, which was inaugurated by the chief minister on December 16, 2022, at a cost of Rs 127 crore, was expected to host the BJP's election rally.

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PM Modi was scheduled to campaign in Shillong and Tura on February 24, but an alternate venue, the Alotgre cricket stadium, is being considered.

District Election Officer Swapnil Tembe said, "The sports department has communicated that it will not be fit to host such a big gathering at the stadium as construction work is still going on and materials kept at the site may be of safety concerns."

BJP National General Secretary Rituraj Sinha expressed his amusement at how a stadium could be declared "incomplete and unavailable" for the prime minister's rally just two months after its inauguration.

"Is Conrad Sangma and Mukul Sangma scared of us? They are trying to stall the BJP’s wave in Meghalaya. You can try and stop PM’s rally but the people of the state have made up their minds (to support the BJP)," he added.

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Sinha went on to assert that the response of the people to rallies of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other star campaigners of the BJP has taken other parties aback.

Senior BJP leader AL Hek announced that Modi will instead hold a roadshow in the Pynthorumkhrah constituency in Shillong on February 24.

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma: No say from NPP or my side

Sangma, however, has asserted that neither he nor his party had any role in denying permission for the prime minister's election rally.

In a statement issued in Shillong, the chief minister said on Monday that the accusation made by the BJP was false as permissions for rallies are given by the Election Commission and that he too had been denied.

"So, there is no say from NPP or my side. Dragging our name into it is completely wrong. I was even denied permission for many of my rallies," Sangma said.

He said such things happen during elections but the BJP has made this into a big issue.

Sangma also said the possibility of denying permission may be due to the huge crowd Modi would draw.

"It is a fact that when PM Modi holds a programme, the crowd will be huge. So, I feel that the district administration may have felt that since it is a natural turf, and if many people come, it will damage the natural turf and also there is no parking facility there," he said.

With agency inputs.

First Published:Feb 20, 2023 6:22 PM IST