Over 600 BJP Workers Join Event Ahead Of 50,000-Athlete Tournament
Key Points:
- MP Khel Mahotsav-2026 launched with BJP workers’ meet in Hazaribagh
- More than 50,000 athletes from 22 blocks to compete in 12 sports
- Babulal Marandi says festival takes PM’s Khelo India vision to villages
HAZARIBAGH – A workers’ conference marking the launch of the MP Khel Mahotsav-2026 was held on Sunday at Angels High School in Hazaribagh, aimed at connecting youth with sports and giving rural talent a bigger platform. More than 600 BJP workers and sports enthusiasts attended the event.
Under this sports festival, over 50,000 athletes from 22 blocks of the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency will take part in various competitions. The Namo Football Tournament alone will see more than 1,500 teams participate, with 12 different sporting disciplines featured overall.
Former Jharkhand chief minister and Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi attended as chief guest at the event. BJP’s Hazaribagh district president Vivekanand Singh presided over the proceedings, while district general secretary Jayanarayan Prasad conducted the programme.
However, the vote of thanks was delivered by Ramgarh district president Sanjeev Singh Bawla. Hazaribagh MP Manish Jaiswal, along with several MLAs including Barhi’s Manoj Kumar Yadav, Barkatha’s Amit Kumar Yadav, Sadar’s Pradeep Prasad and Mandu’s Nirmal Mahto, also addressed the gathering.
Marandi said other elected representatives should learn from MP Manish Jaiswal’s approach of connecting directly with people and earning public trust through service. He said the MP remains continuously engaged with the public through various welfare and social programmes.
Moreover, he said Jaiswal has emerged as a people’s leader precisely because of this dedication, balancing political responsibility with social service and public welfare. Marandi noted that the MP actively works for the upliftment of youth, women, farmers and marginalised sections while promoting social harmony.
He said the MP follows an annual service calendar comprising different welfare programmes through the year. These include mass marriage ceremonies for daughters of needy families in January-February, distribution of traditional sticks to promote martial arts skills around Ram Navami in March-April, and the sports festival held between July and September to connect youth with playing fields and discourage substance abuse.
In addition, Marandi mentioned a pilgrimage campaign organised for the elderly to promote religious tourism, along with initiatives such as gifting lehengas to needy brides during the wedding season and providing support kits to economically weaker families for last rites. He described the sports festival as an effort to take Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Khelo India and Fit India vision to the grassroots.
He called the participation of nearly 50,000 athletes a major achievement in itself, reflecting large-scale efforts to connect youth with sports, healthy living and a positive direction in life. He credited BJP workers for playing a key role in making the MP’s welfare initiatives successful.
Hazaribagh MP Manish Jaiswal said the sports festival was not merely a competition but a public campaign to build a sporting atmosphere in every village. He said his effort around sports and youth in the constituency aims to carry forward the Khelo India and Fit India vision at the ground level.
He recalled that the journey of sporting activities, which began with football in 2016, has now grown into the constituency-wide MP Khel Mahotsav. He said the initiative was not the work of one individual but a collective campaign involving the organisation, workers, youth, athletes and the entire region.
Jaiswal said the goal was not just to hold competitions but to create a positive sporting environment in every village of the Hazaribagh constituency. He called for identifying talented athletes down to the mandal, panchayat and booth level and providing them a proper platform, so no deserving youth is denied sporting opportunities due to lack of information or resources.
He added that special efforts should be made to reach youth who are drifting toward substance abuse or bad company, connecting them to playing fields to lead healthy, disciplined and positive lives. He said fit, disciplined and substance-free youth power would play a crucial role in realising the vision of a developed India.
He urged BJP workers to identify athletes from every village, connect every youth to the playing field, and turn the MP Khel Mahotsav into a public movement. He said this would mark the true success of the campaign.
Jaiswal announced that this year’s Namo Football Tournament would begin on August 30, 2026, from Daru block in the Sadar assembly constituency. He appealed to workers to assist with player registration, coordination, access to grounds and local arrangements, stressing discipline, transparency and respect for athletes as top priorities.
The event was attended by district presidents Vivekanand Singh and Sanjeev Singh Bawla, AJSU district president Parmeshwar Mahto, senior BJP leader Prof K.P. Sharma, several MLAs, district council chairman Umesh Mehta, deputy mayor Avinash Kumar Yadav, and numerous other party representatives and workers from across the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency.
Narendra Modi‘s Khelo India and Fit India initiatives have inspired several grassroots sporting campaigns across Jharkhand in recent years, aimed at drawing rural youth toward organised sports and away from substance abuse. Similar large-scale sporting events and youth mobilisation drives have periodically been organised across the state, alongside political engagement seen in other BJP-led gatherings and state-level youth welfare initiatives.
