Ranchi: At least 14 leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, are expected to attend the 'Ulgulan (uprising) Nyay' rally in Ranchi on Sunday. The main focus of the mega event will be on the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate.

Around 5 lakh people are likely to attend the rally at Ranchi’s Prabhat Tara ground, which is scheduled to commence at around 3 pm. The event has been organized by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) as a joint show of strength amid the Lok Sabha polls.

Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren, the wives of Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren, are also expected to address the event, along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, and National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah.

Posters of INDIA bloc leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana Soren, have already been put up at the rally venue.

A day before the rally, Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren said, "We need to stop the dictatorship and save our democracy and the constitution. Everyone knows what happened in Jharkhand and Delhi. We will expose the dictatorial approach of the Centre at the mega rally."

The Chief Minister also said that they got the people's mandate in the name of Hemant Soren, "but attempts were made to destabilize his government from the beginning, and finally, he was sent to jail," as reported.

"Delhi's people also experienced a similar situation. From the dais of Ulgulan rally, we will tell the people of the country about the dictatorship of the Centre," he added.

Speaking to the media, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "We are together in this fight against BJP's growing autocracy. They are not allowing the opposition to function properly; what they are trying to do is to silence the opposition."

"We are seeing a high rate of inflation, joblessness and women not getting a safe environment. In the first phase of the election, not many people, but those who have come out to vote have come out to change these people (BJP), who have been showing this dictatorial tendency," she added.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury wrote to Kalpana Soren, saying that he would be unable to attend today's rally due to election-related commitments.

Firstly, Yechury thanked Kalpana Soren for extending the invitation and said, "Unfortunately, I am in the midst of the election campaign in Kerala, where voting is scheduled for April 26. You are surely aware of the importance of Kerala for the CPI(M)... Therefore, I will not be able to attend..."

In his letter, the CPI(M) General Secretary reiterated that he continued to "denounce the detention of Hemant Soren".

"The CPI(M) will resolutely work for the defeat of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections in cooperation with all the secular democratic parties of the INDIA bloc."

However, Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi criticized the Ranchi rally, saying "all those who were against development and Sanatan Dharma are gathering here".

"Jharkhand would not have been created if there was no BJP government at the Centre. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee created the state on November 15, 2000, after the formation of the BJP-led NDA government in 1999. Only BJP and NDA understood the feelings and sentiments of the tribals and Jharkhand," he said.

He alleged that the JMM-led coalition government indulged in corruption for the past four years and looted the state's resources.

The 'Ulgulan (uprising) Nyay' rally in Ranchi comes weeks after the March 31 'Loktantra Bachao' rally in Delhi, which was called by top leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc against the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal.

The Delhi rally was attended by PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti; former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray; Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi; Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav; Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut; NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar; and Kalpana Soren, among others.

While addressing the rally, Kalpana Soren slammed the BJP and alleged that there were attempts to end democracy by "dictatorship forces".

She said "hate was being spread throughout the country" and called on the people to vote for the INDIA bloc to "save democracy and your rights".

"Voters are the most powerful. Two months back, Hemant Soren was arrested. Arvind Kejriwal is in jail for 10 days. Strengthen our alliance by giving us votes. Throw out these dictatorship forces," she added.

The Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand are set to take place in four phases on May 13, 20, 25, and June 1. The state has 28 of the 81 Assembly seats and five of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

The JMM will contest the upcoming polls in alliance with Congress and other parties. As per the seat-sharing agreement, the JMM will contest five seats while the Congress will field its candidates on seven seats out of the total 14 in Jharkhand.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP clinched 11 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, while the All Jharkhand Students Union party, Congress, and JMM secured one seat each.

Earlier this month, the JMM named two of its candidates for the upcoming polls, bringing an end to speculations that Hemant Soren was being fielded against his sister-in-law and BJP candidate Sita Soren from the Dumka seat.

The party has instead fielded Nalin Soren from Dumka, while Mathura Mahto will contest from Giridih.

Sita Soren, wife of late JMM leader Durga Soren, joined the BJP on March 19. She was given a ticket to contest from Dumka by the party.

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