Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Gujarat started preparing for US President Donald Trump’s visit to Ahmedabad around February 10, a fortnight before his arrival. From Mehsana to Vadodara, they have mobilised party members and supporters to greet him and First Lady Melania Trump, and hired buses to ferry tens of thousands of people to Ahmedabad on February 24 for the Namaste Trump roadshow and event.
The US president has spoken about being greeted by 7 million people when he arrives in the Gujarat city, citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Local BJP leaders say the crowd, while it will be substantial, will number hundreds of thousands, not millions. The population of Ahmedabad in the 2011 Census was 5.5 million.
The Motera, the largest cricket stadium in the world and the venue of the Namaste Trump rally, can accommodate around 100,000-120,000 people at full capacity, said BJP spokesperson Krishan Singh Solanki.
“It is our privilege that he is flying directly to Ahmedabad and so we would really like to welcome him properly,’’ Solanki said.
Hundreds of thousands more are expected to line the 22-km route from Sardar Vallabhbhai airport to Motera to wave to the US president en route. Tableaux of all of India’s 28 Indian states will also line the route. The US President and his wife will be received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the airport.
In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping also visited Ahmedabad on the first leg of his three-day visit to India. He too was received by Prime Minister Modi.
The state government, the Gujarat Cricket Association and the BJP have all been tasked with ensuring there are enough people along the route.
Mukesh Dixit of the Vadodara unit of the BJP said that all of Ahmedabad’s corporators and all Gujarat MLAs have been given just one job–to manage the roadshow. “They have been given the job of managing the crowds outside,” he said.
Also present along the route will be artistes who will present tableaux from each state.
Dixit is in charge of the buses for around 15,000 BJP members who will be ferried to the stadium at 6 am on February 24. “We will be at the stadium at 9 (am) and will leave around 5pm, when the event gets over,’’ he said. He also added that they had prepared a pit stop for meals.
For the state government, it is also a major logistical challenge. All of these spectators will need to be security-cleared. “We have registered all those who will attend,’’ said Dixit, “We are all ready.’’
