At least 39 passengers were injured after a bus carrying workers from the federally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) crashed into a stationary truck in the Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh.
The passengers were on their way to the 'Karyakarta Mahakumbh' (mass gathering of BJP workers), organised to mark the anniversary of the birth in 1916 of Deendayal Upadhyaya, who drafted the official political doctrine of the BJP's pre-cursor, the Jana Sangh party. Upadhyaya died in 1968. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the event today in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state.
The accident happened late Sunday night and the wounded were taken to hospital.
Jana Sangh was formed in 1951 and then merged with the Janata Party. In 1980, leaders of Jana Sangh left the Janata Party because of differences of opinion and formed the Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to media reports, the BJP has been whipping up support in an attempt to reach the ambitious target of one million people attending Monday's event.