United India Rally: We will not allow riots in the name of ‘Rath Yatra’, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mamata Banerjee will hold a mega rally of Opposition parties at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground on Saturday. At least 25 top political leaders of Opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP’s Sharad Yadav, DMK chief MK Stalin and estranged BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, are have reached Kolkata to attend the "United India Rally”. The rally is in lines with Mamata Banerjee’s efforts to forge an anti-BJP federal front for the coming Lok Sabha elections 2019. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav are among the top leaders who will occupy the stage.

Although Congress president Rahul Gandhi expressed his support for the rally in his letter to the West Bengal CM, it was highly unlikely that he would turn up for the rally. Instead of Gandhi, top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvi will attend the rally. The TMC has claimed that around 40 lakh people are likely to reach the Brigade Parade Ground for the rally, which could be the biggest ever political rally at least in last 10 decades. However, the Kolkata police said that the ground can hold around 7 Lakh people.

The "United India Rally” will project Banerjee as a major political force to reckon with against the ruling BJP. Experts believe the rally, where the leaders of most Opposition parties will be present, would also endorse the West Bengal CM as Opposition’s PM candidate against BJP’s Narendra Modi in 2019.

Below are the live updates of TMC's Brigade Parade Ground rally:

HIGHLIGHTS

• TMC expects around 40 lakh will attend the rally.
• At least 25 top political leaders will occupy the stage.
• The rally is seen as crowning moment for Mamata Banerjee.