The ‘housewarming’ ceremony was presided over by his son Neeraj on January 14.

According to party sources, the decision to perform the griha pravesh on January 14 came after Singh expressed his desire to open the house to the public on Makar Sankranti, the first day of the new year according to the Hindu calender.

Talking to Newsline, Neeraj Singh said the decision to have a place of their own in Ghaziabad was his father’s. “People need a place where they can meet him. We’ll buy a house after the elections are over. There was another reason — we also wanted to be voters in the district. Each and every vote counts,” he said.

Asked if Singh senior will have the time to visit the constituency regularly, Neeraj said he will spend at least a day each week in Ghaziabad interacting with locals and getting to know their problems.

After being declared the BJP candidate from Ghaziabad, Rajnath Singh had attended a few rallies but he had to face heat from Opposition leaders for not living in the district.

Rajnath’s rallies in Ghaziabad:
December 14, ’08: Chief guest in Jain Samaj rally and gathering; visited the house of Pintoo Tyagi, the slain Congressman; met family members of slain BJP member, Raghuveer Vichal the same day.

December 25, ’08: Addressed a gathering of the Garhwali Samaj in Indirapuram along with Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khandoori.

December 31, ’08: Met farmers over the land acuquisition issue in Bagheda.