The mortal remains of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh will be cremated at the Narora Ghat in Bulandshahr on Monday afternoon.
Aligarh BJP MP Satish Gautam, said: “The funeral procession will begin from the stadium at 9 a.m. on Monday. After a brief halt at Atrauli, it will reach Dibai where the last rites will take place around 3 p.m.”
Chandrapal Singh, a close aide of the late leader, said: “He always chose Atrauli over Dibai, but maintained that Aligarh is his ‘Janambhoomi’ while Bulandshahr his ‘karambhoomi’. Therefore, he is being cremated in Dibai.”
Singh considered Dibai his ‘karambhoomi’ because he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bulandshahr once and twice to the state Assembly from Dibai constituency. Dibai is also the nearest Ganga ghat.
The mortal remains of the late leader were brought to the Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar Stadium on Sunday evening in an air ambulance from Lucknow.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accompanied the remains.
Thousands queued up to pay their last respects to the late leader and cries of ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and ‘Babu ji Amar Rahen’ filled the air.
Singh was a teacher in Atrauli before taking a plunge into politics. He was first elected as MLA in 1967. He won 10 of the 11 Assembly polls he contested.
The BJP’s top brass is likely to be present during the last rites, with workers claiming that over 5 lakh people are expected to attend the cremation.
Meanwhile, Abhishek Pandey, chief development officer (CDO) of Bulandshahr, said that the irrigation department’s land is being cleaned up for the cremation.
The ground has a capacity to accommodate over 3,000 people but the nearby areas can accommodate a larger crowd. “The body of Kalyan Singh will be bathed in Ganga before cremation,” Pandey said.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had visited the departed leader’s Lucknow residence to pay tributes.