BJP holds padyatra from Borivali to Kandivali, says over 12,000 joined; Piyush Goyal leads

The Bharatiya Janata Party's North Mumbai district unit held a padyatra on Saturday, October 31. According to the party, more than 12,000 people took part. The march was part of the party's "Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy" campaign.

The padyatra was led by Union Commerce and Industry Minister and Mumbai North MP Piyush Goyal. Leaders of the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena also joined the BJP. Those present included BJP leader Pravin Darekar, BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay and Shiv Sena MLA Prakash Surve.

The march began at the Swami Vivekananda statue in Borivali West. It ended at the Saptah Maidan opposite the Kamla Vihar Sports Club in Mahavir Nagar, Kandivali West. Men, women and young people came in large numbers. BJP workers and supporters also shouted slogans against those whom the party accuses of defaming the government and its institutions.

A BJP leader said more than 12,000 people took part in the padyatra.

Advocate Akhilesh Chaubey, secretary of the Mumbai BJP, said the padyatra received an overwhelming response. According to him, people from different sections of society joined workers of the BJP and its allies. Chaubey said: "The padyatra received an overwhelming response. A large number of people, including workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allied parties, took part. Men, women and youth from different sections of society came forward. More than 12,000 people took part in the padyatra."

Chaubey also said the participation of young people, including Gen Z and Gen Alpha, was especially encouraging and showed their support for the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chaubey alleged that those opposing constitutional institutions such as the government and the Supreme Court are receiving foreign funding so that they can work against the country's interests. He gave no details or evidence for the allegation.

As part of the campaign, BJP national president Nitin Nabin will on Sunday lead a "Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy" padyatra in Rohtak, Haryana. It is part of the party's nationwide campaign. The BJP has described it as an attempt to answer the opposition's "misinformation, propaganda and orchestrated chaos".

The Rohtak padyatra will be held on the same day as a rally by the opposition INDIA bloc at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. That rally is against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged vote theft.