HYDERABAD:

This is funding, Modi style. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has ushered in a corporate style of organizing meetings that will ensure that the public themselves pays for the entire expenses of the public meeting scheduled to be addressed by him at LB Stadium in the city on August 11.

The BJP is charging Rs 5 per ticket for the public meeting and on day one of the online registration for the meeting on Monday, about 8,000 persons signed up. Organizers are expecting anywhere between 50,000 to one lakh attendance for the meet, which at the rate of Rs 5 per ticket would amount to about Rs 5 lakh in case the party manages a full house.

L B Stadium charges Rs 3.75 lakh per day for hiring and also takes a deposit of Rs 5 lakh which will be refunded after deduction of the electricity expenses. "If the BJP gets it right, then the entire expense for the August 11 public meeting will be borne by the public themselves," noted analysts.

While the online registration for the public meeting is already on via the party's official website, Facebook and Twitter, ticket sale counters are to be opened up on July 20 to facilitate the sale of tickets. "We plan to open about 500 such ticket counters in Hyderabad and about a dozen each in the district headquarters. The money raised by the sale of tickets will be utilized for charity purposes," said state BJP spokesperson NVSS Prabhakar.

Insiders say the party would end up spending more in setting up the sale counters across the state including the state capital. While the stadium can seat about 25,000 people in the gallery and another 15,000 on the ground, the capacity can almost double in case standing is allowed. "The response is overwhelming. We know Modi's name strikes a chord with the youth, and 8000 delegates registering online on the opening day on Monday testifies to it," Prabhakar, who is in-charge of organizing the meeting, said.

Dubbed the 'Narendra Modi Nav Bharat Youth Conclave', the rally was originally scheduled for July 27, but was postponed since voting for the second phase of pachayat polls is scheduled for the day. While the entry has been restricted to the age group between 18 and 40 years, the organizers said youth from rural area are the main target while students and working professionals would form a sizable chunk. On being asked whether Modi had approved the modalities of the rally, Prabhakar said the design of the whole programme is the brain child of the Gujarat chief minister.

The Hyderabad rally has assumed political significance as it would be Modi's first public meeting in the south after becoming the BJP's chairman of the campaign committee. BJP sources said the Hyderabad meeting will also mark the launch of the party's poll campaign for the 2014 elections in south India.

Following Hyderabad's youth conclave, Modi is scheduled to address a farmers rally at Rajahmundry in Andhra region sometime in September, following it up with another public meeting in the Rayalaseema region. However, unlike the Hyderabad Youth conclave, the farmers' rally at Rajahmundry and the public meeting in Rayalaseema are open to the public free of cost.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com