Indore:
The BJP's attempt at an austerity drive has backfired, the tents top leaders will live in are more expensive than five star hotel rooms.
Austerity - the new BJP president Nitin Gadkari's first step forward is back to basics. On the Agra-Mumbai highway in Indore, a sprawling city in canvas will be home to 5000 BJP leaders, for a three-day conclave.
The RSS complained that the five-star-culture was hurting the BJP's image and sending wrong signal to the cadres. So, Gadkari ordered a conclave in tents - not hotels.
But the austerity plan it seems got lost on the drawing board. Sources say the organisers are spending more than it would have cost in hotels. 1700 tents have been erected.
The BJP's top guns will live in 25 luxury tents, these tents are one BHK with a dining room, a room for secretarial staff and a plush bath space.
To keep them wired with the outside world - laptops, Wifi and plasma TVs come with the tent.
Meanwhile, the 5000 odd delegates will live in 1200 tents - each tent will have four leaders.
Makeshift arrangements mean spending more on security too. A larger police force to man the 90 acres area - round the clock - is being deployed.
A helipad is ready to tackle an emergency. Each leader - even Gadkari has a unique ID card. 1600 CCTV cameras will keep vigil 24x7. Then to ensure mobility in the 90 acre township, cycles for workers and battery operated carts for leaders have been organised.
More money has gone in creating water, electricity, sewage and garbage disposal infrastructure. Mosquito repellents, emergency lights, a tented hospital, a big kitchen, three different dining halls mean greater expenditure - all in the name of austerity. After doing all this, BJP claims austerity wasn't the only reason.
"It's busy marriage season in Indore. 5000 workers can create a shortage in Indore. So, just to ensure no trouble to public, we decided on the tents," said Prakash Javadekar, BJP Spokesman.
In pursuit of happiness or their own lives, voters expect our
netas to be honest, not corrupt but not really austere. Voters want accommodating vision, accurate polices for them. They know what's austerity, what's tokenism, who is working for the nation and who for self.