An aura of invincibility can be a double-edged sword, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has realised.
He warned Varanasi’s voters on Friday not to fall into the “trap” of those claiming it’s fine not to vote because “Modiji has already won”.
“Some people are creating an atmosphere that Modiji has already won (the election) and it’s fine not to vote. Please don’t fall into their trap. Voting is your right and everyone must exercise it,” Modi said after filing his nomination in Varanasi.
The Congress pounced on the appeal to suggest that Modi had turned nervous after the first three rounds of polling.
On his part, the Prime Minister is leaving no stone unturned. Free tea, free breakfast, free newspaper, free TV viewing…, he reeled out on Friday. Modi wasn’t making promises to voters in Varanasi, he was luring his grassroots workers to canvass for him.
“Each worker should take the responsibility to be in touch with 10 families. The worker should reach one family every morning,” Modi said, addressing booth-level BJP workers in his constituency on Friday.
“He should knock on their door and enquire about their well-being, their children’s studies and their medical needs. You’ll see, they will then offer you free tea.”
He added: “You can then go to another family, ask them which newspaper they read. You can then read a newspaper free of cost there. You will also be offered free breakfast. Finally, you can ask them to push the button on the lotus (the BJP’s election symbol).”
Modi said the party workers could even watch his TV interviews at the homes of the families assigned to them, thus avoiding having to pay for the electricity.
Ajay Kumar, a resident, said: “Modi believes that the women and men here will be sitting idle at their homes waiting for the BJP workers to knock. I feel sorry for his poor understanding.”
Modi also compared himself to Lord Krishna, saying he would lift India to great heights just as the god had lifted the Govardhan hill.
“Jaise Sri Krishna ne Govardhan parvat utha liya tha, waise hi Bharat ko nai unchaiyon par le jana hai,” he said.
He claimed that for the first time in Indian history, there were no anti-incumbency sentiments this election.
Modi visited the Kal Bhairav temple before filing his nomination. He was accompanied by several Union ministers and other senior politicians from the BJP and its allies.
Among them were home minister Rajnath Singh, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, BJP president Amit Shah, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan.
