Kaun jeetega Gujarat: Modi uses phoneafriend lifeline
PERSONAL TOUCH PM has been calling up old connections to motivate them to vote for BJP
AHMEDABAD: Hello, the Prime Minister is on the line.
Narendra Modi is striking a chord with his home state’s grassroots BJP workers with his phone, a weapon that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi may miss in his arsenal in the battle for Gujarat.
The BJP’s biggest crowdpuller is calling up party workers personally to add to his high-decibel campaigns and innovative techniques such as 3D holographic projections at rallies and “chai pe charcha” meetings, which he used ahead of the 2014 parliamentary polls.
“These personal calls by the PM are making a huge impact both on the party and the people of Gujarat. His approach is infusing new energy into our strong organisational network. This goes to prove how he remains a people’s leader unlike Rahul Gandhi,” BJP media cell in-charge Harshad Patel said.
The phone-a-friend strategy is seen as an attempt to underline his ability to remember old connections and rekindle emotional bonds ahead of the high-stakes December 9 and 14 elections in Gujarat, which he ruled as chief minister from 2001 to 2014.
The calls are meant to dent Gandhi’s growing social media presence and the Congressbacked online campaign — Vikas gando thai gayo che, or development has gone crazy. It is also a counteroffensive against Gandhi’s outreach during his recent tour of the state, where he had tea with a party worker’s family in Jamnagar and performed Navratri puja in Rajkot.
Audio clips of Modi’s calls to two party workers in Gujarat are widely shared on social media. In the first clip, he is heard talking to Gopal Gohil, BJP general secretary of Ward Number 13 in Vadodara who is a shopkeeper.
The PM tells him to ignore negativity in campaigns. Modi cites how he was called “maut ka saudagar” or merchant of death, and a murderer by the Congress, but he concentrated on working for Gujarat.
“We have been destined to be abused since the launch of Jan Sangh. But you should not worry about it … Has there been any election when lies were not spread? … They said my hands were stained with blood... Earlier, rumours were spread by word of mouth, now WhatsApp is there to help those who wish to spread rumours,” Modi says.
The pep talk had a positive effect and Gohil promises to redouble his efforts.
“Despite having a pressing schedule, Saheb makes it a point to talk to small party workers like me. This is a matter of pride for me and my generations to come,” Gohil added.
In another call, made to Sumitraben at Dharampur in south Gujarat’s Valsad district, Modi says he remembers a dish she cooked for him during a visit to Dharampur long ago. Sumitraben replies that it was soup. Modi goes on to ask her to “ignore casteist” politics by the Congress and mentions names of some other workers.
The connection is instantaneous as Modi had intensively worked at the grassroots level for years before becoming the CM. He enjoys a personal rapport with party workers.