The event
First joint rally of the grand alliance at Bihar billed as Swabhiman Rally (a rally for self-respect).
The cause
Ahead of the Bihar elections, the rally has been called by the grand alliance, comprising Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress to protest against "the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi bruised dignity of Biharis".Lalu Prasad Yadav, Nitish Kumar and Sonia Gandhi will be seen sharing the stage.
The relevance
The first big show of unity after Kumar and Prasad joined hands last year, to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar.
The venue
Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Sonia's itinerary
Sonia Gandhi would arrive in Patna at 12.30pm on Sunday and proceed to Gandhi Maidan after a 10-minute stopover at the airport. She will remain at the rally venue for about two hours.
The absentees
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi would not be attending the grand event. Though Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has already declined to attend the event, his brother Shivpal Singh Yadav would represent the party in the rally.
To a question on the possibility of Rahul Gandhi sharing the platform with Lalu Prasad, the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ashok Choudhary said that Rahul would address the election meetings to be organised by the party during the poll campaign.
The audience
Buoyed by the participation of Sonia Gandhi in the rally, Choudhary claimed that more than 1.50 lakh party workers would attend the rally.