Stage set for Mamata's mega Opposition rally in Kolkata
Kolkata, Jan 19 : The stage is all set for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's mega Opposition rally against the Narendra Modi government here on Saturday.
Leaders of all the opposition parties except the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the CPI(M)-led Left Front will be taking part in the rally, which the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has said will sound the "death knell" for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
"Only few hours to go for the historic 'United India Rally' at the Brigade Parade Grounds. I welcome all national leaders, supporters and lakhs of people to participate in today's rally to pledge to build a stronger, progressive and united India #UnitedIndiaAtBrigade," Banerjee, who is also the TMC chief, said in a tweet.
More than 20 national leaders, including former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, his son and Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Sharad Pawar, Farooq Abdullah, Sharad Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav, Hemant Soren and former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang, reached Kolkata on Friday to take part in the rally.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also expected to be in attendance.
Although Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati will not attend the rally, senior party leader Satish Chandra Mishra will be present on her behalf.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi too has extended his support to the rally. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Abhishek Manu Singhvi are expected to represent the Congress at the rally.
Large-scale preparations have been made to ensure that the rally turns out to be massive success. Besides the huge stages, 20 watchtowers have been erected and 1,000 microphones and 30 LED screens put up so that the spectators can see the leaders and hear them speak clearly.
As many as 10,000 security personnel will be deployed in and around the venue of the rally and around 400 police pickets have been set up to ensure foolproof security, the police said.
Lakhs of TMC supporters and workers have started arriving in the city from all over the state.
Vehicular movement around the venue has been restricted, the police said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
