The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday questioned the INDIA bloc's claims of a massive turnout at its Ramlila Maidan rally, alleging that nearly 40 per cent of the venue remained vacant despite Opposition leaders projecting an attendance of 10 lakh people.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra, addressing a press conference in Delhi after the rally, displayed visuals of the venue and claimed that thousands of chairs had remained unoccupied during the programme.
Patra accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders of exaggerating the scale of public participation in the protest, which was organised against alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
𝗕𝗝𝗣 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺
Patra said that although the Opposition had projected an attendance of 10 lakh people, a substantial portion of the ground remained unoccupied during the afternoon.
He claimed that between 3.30 pm and 4 pm, approximately 5,000 to 7,000 of the 28,000 chairs arranged at the venue were vacant.
According to the BJP leader, the empty seating arrangements contradicted the Opposition's claims about the scale of public participation.
Patra also alleged that around 40 per cent of Ramlila Maidan remained empty and presented photographs from the event to support his assertion.
However, the BJP's estimates could not be independently verified, and no official final attendance figure was immediately available.
𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬
Ahead of the rally, INDIA bloc organisers had projected that as many as 10 lakh supporters could participate in the demonstration, while Delhi Police had anticipated a turnout of approximately 50,000.
Officials had earlier indicated that Ramlila Maidan could accommodate between 45,000 and 50,000 people when empty. Its capacity was estimated to fall to approximately 30,000–40,000 with chairs, barricades, enclosures and designated passageways in place.
Thousands of supporters from various Opposition parties assembled at the venue on Sunday, with many travelling to the national capital from different states.
The rally was attended by senior INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee.
𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 ‘𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶’
The INDIA bloc organised the 'Chalo Dilli' rally to protest what it described as widespread electoral irregularities, including alleged deletion of voters' names during the SIR exercise.
Opposition leaders also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the Election Commission of failing to protect the integrity of the electoral process.
The gathering followed a symbolic 'public impeachment' proceeding against the Chief Election Commissioner organised by the Opposition at Kharge's residence on Saturday.
At Sunday's rally, Opposition leaders reiterated their allegations of electoral manipulation and pledged to continue their campaign.
The BJP, meanwhile, sought to challenge the Opposition's claims of public support by highlighting what it described as a significant gap between the projected attendance and the crowd present at Ramlila Maidan.
There was no immediate independently verified estimate establishing the final turnout or the proportion of the venue occupied during the rally.