Modi's 'Hunkar' rally venue has hosted Jinnah, Netaji in the past

Patna: The historic Gandhi Maidan where BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi addressed a rally today has seen several important rallies in the past, including that of Jaiprakash Narayan, Subhash Chandra Bose and Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Modi is addressing “Hunkar rally” at Gandhi Maidan as part of his first political engagement in his rival Nitish Kumar’s home turf after split with JD(U) and to improve BJP’s fortune in 2014 elections. Director of Gandhi Sangrahlay Razi Ahmed, who has authored a book “Tragedy of Indian Sub-continent: Power, communalism and partition”, told PTI quoting from his book that Mohammad Ali Jinnah had chosen the same Gandhi Maidan to revive his fledgling Muslim League in 1938. The book was released by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on 2 October. [caption id=“attachment_1196981” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, party president Rajnath Singh, senior leader Arun Jaitley along with other state party leaders at the Hunkar rally in Patna on Sunday. PTI[/caption] In the elections held in Bihar in 1937 on the basis of 1935 Act having provision of separate electorate, Muslim League could not win even a single seat out of 40, Ahmed said. He chose to hold a rally of Muslim League in the same Gandhi Maidan which was at that time known by the name Bankipore Maidan to revive fortunes of the league. Ahmed said Mohammad Aziz, the President of the League, had stayed in the Hatwa House near the Gandhi Maidan. Ahmed has quoted Sarwar Ali, legal luminary and former judge of the Patna High Court, who had heard Jinnah speech in the 1938 in his book. Jinnah’s fiery speech worked wonder and the Muslim League won 36 out of 40 seats in the provincial elections in the state in 1946, he said. Ahmed said the erstwhile Bankipore Maidan was named after Mahatma Gandhi after his assassination. Gandhi Maidan located in the heart of the Patna is also a witness to many other historic events.  Subhash Chandra Bose had organised an important meeting of his Forward block at the ground in 1939, a year after its formation. In 1974, Loknayak Jayprakash Narayan “JP” had launched his “sampoorna kranti” (total revolution) from the same Gandhi Maidan to oust Congress from power. A booklet of state Art and Culture department with the name “Patna a swarnim dharohar” says that Gandhi Maidan was developed by then Commissioner Metcaff between 1813 and 1833. Initially it was called Bankipore Maidan or Doranda Singh Maidan after its owner. PTI