Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi making the inaugural speech during the Run for Unity event organised on the death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Vadodara on Sunday
With victories in the recently-held state assembly polls and barely months left for Lok Sabha elections, BJPs prime ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi, it seems, is trying to accelerate his party's run towards the Delhi throne.
On the death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the country's Iron man, on Sunday, the Gujarat chief minister managed to convert a marathon run into a major mobilisation event for the BJP. The 'Run for Unity' marathon, held at over 1100 locations, saw the party's top brass fan out in different parts of the country.
Mr Modi flagged off the marathon at Vadodara while his one-time political mentor, LK Advani did the honours in Ahmedabad. Party president, Rajnath Singh flagged off the run in Delhi.
Continuing to usurp Sardar Patel's legacy, Mr Modi declared that the event was a small step for his big dream of constructing the world's tallest statue - the Statue of Unity.
"Please do not measure this untainted effort on the political scale. This is a work done for national love and for national unity. No matter which party or what its ideology or what is the number of protests, the key to move forward for the country is unity," Mr Modi said to over a lakh participants.
LK Advani too chipped in. "The federal government has never organised any event for Sardar Patel on his birth or death day. To see such wonderful programme on his death day makes me so happy," the leader, once called the BJP's Iron Man, said.
The campaign is not limited to the marathon; next on the cards is a national essay and collage competition with over 50 lakh students expected to participate.
This is in addition to the Gujarat ministers and bureaucrats moving across the country to collect iron scrap for the 182-metre tall statue.
The opposition parties have criticized Mr Modi's campaign, terming it political. "They are using it to get goodwill in elections and to make an image like Sardar Patel. This is a run for PM's post, not for unity, '' commented Janata Dal United leader, KC Tyagi.