People's leader! How does Narendra Modi charm the masses and keep the votes comi ng in?

The story behind the charismatic Gujarat CM's people connect TAGS: Narendra Modi | Gujarat polls 2012 | Gujarat elections 2012 | Gujarat Asse mbly elections | Sonia Gandhi | Rahul Gandhi In the urban centres it appears as if Modi has cast a spell and turned Gujarat i nto 'Modidum'. RELATEDS The troubled waters of Sir Creek: Gujarat CM Narendra Modi's demand for a freeze on the disputed creek complicates issue Rahul slams Modi for 'politics of anger'; says turn to 'love' UPA Govt lacks spine to stand up to Malik's remarks, says Modi Gujarat elections: Narendra Modi's development record questioned

As he used a rare idiom to take potshots at 'Madame Sonia and Rahul Baba' by acc using them of not doing their home work on Gujarat before hitting at him and the n charged the Union Government of cheating the people of India by making false p romises before comparing his Government's successes with the Centre's failures e ntirely ignoring the local issues on the last of the campaigning for the Gujarat polls, Narendra Damodardas Modi, 62, had literally turned the poll into a refer endum on himself. In the final phase of the campaigning the swaying crowds that flocked to Modi's poll rallies to hear his power packed speeches inter-spread with sharp rhetoric , unprecedented colour and cutting language calculated to emotionally move the p eople the public response to him could only be compared with the response that p erhaps Mrs. Gandhi got in her heady days or Rajiv Gandhi triggered in the emotio nal wave following her assassination or , as old timers say, Pandit Nehru got so on after independence. In urban centres it virtually appeared as if Modi had cas t a spell and had turned Gujarat into one "Modidum". It appears as if Modi has cast a spell and turned Gujarat into 'Modidum'. That was exactly the case on the day the first phase of polling ended on Decembe r 13th at Vadodra where he raised the issue of Sir Creek, a disputed sea creek o n Indo-Pak border in Kutch. He accused the Manmohan Singh Government of planning to sell national interest to Pakistan and then asked the large mass in his inte ractive style "Sir Creek is like a part of our body. Can we allow it to be swall owed by Pakistan? Pat came the response: ' No, No, No." Moving the people on a national Indo-Pak issue had deadly public impact. After h is speech when Modi got into his car to leave the venue, hysterical crowds urged towards his convoy giving police officials a hard time. At one point as Modi's personal secretary Omparakash Singh Chandel asked the driver to drive fast to ge t past the maddening mob, which literally seemed to see a God in Modi, the Chief Minister intervened to tell the driver to drive slow, instead, to prevent the c ar from hitting a Modi lover. Taking the question-answer route he put questions to the crowd one after another as to whether they were happy with his work on girl child education, water, agr iculture, public health and so on. Each time the crowd responded with a big " ye s". And then Modi gave his own verdict: "Brothers and sisters, you are happy but I am not. For, I know in the past 12 years I have only done the job of filling the pot holes left behind by Congress's misrule since independence. But now the surface is ready. And on it we shall start constructing a shining and magnificen t Gujarat from January 1, 2013."

Modi's aim was to emotional involve the voter by swaying the masses using a rare rhetoric so that they get drawn to the polling booth like a magnet. And in this he succeded perhaps more than his expectations. Like at many places he said: "A ll of you take a holiday at least once year. I am that labourer of six crore Guj aratis who has not taken a single holiday in 12 years. I have only chanted Gujar at, Gujarat, Gujarat." Another charge: "Astonished by the pace of development old timers in villages of ten ask from where does this Modi fellow bring the funds. I have been like a sen tinel sitting on the treasury, not allowing any palm (Congress symbol) to fall o n it. Earlier this money used to go into the pockets of Congressmen and the midd le men but now I am spending it on the people." Then comes the final kick: "In 1857 the brave Rani of Jhansi vowed 'Meri Jhansi, NahiDoongi, Nahin Doongi.' Now I will say Gujarat and you will all respond with "Nahin Denge, Nahin Denge". At another place he changed it a bit: "When you go out on holiday, do you ever h and over the keys of your house to an unknown person? Never. You have tested me over the past 12 years . So don't commit the mistake of handing over the key to an unreliable person". The rhetoric has worked for Modi as shown by the record 7 0 per cent turnout in the first round of polling on December 13. Modi has also gone too far in ridiculing Sonia and Rahul but the public has lapp ed it up. Like when he recounted as to how in a Gujarat village Sonia said, "My mother-in-law visited this place once" and then burst forth: "It shows Sonia Mad ame and Rahul Baba are left with no issues. Why should people vote for Sonia jus t because her mother-in-law visited the village?" At another place he even brought in Motilal Nehru: "Rahul Baba recently said tha t once when Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was in jail Mahatma Gandhi , who was at that ti me staying in the Nehrus' ancestral home, Anand Bhavan, purposely slept on the f loor to express his sympathy with Nehru . But what Rahul Baba didn't tell you wa s that Motilalji who was Pt. Nehru's father and was staying in the same house sl ept on the cot". There are all indications that the voting will cross 70 per cen t on the final day of polling on December 17. UNTIRING MODI ALL THE WAY The long list of star campaigners is a obvious paraphernalia of electioneering, but in Gujarat, it is Narendra Modi all the way. So in 15 days beginning Decembe r 1 to December 15, Modi carried out 102 public meetings hopping all over the st ate. On an average, he addressed more than six meetings daily. As a matter of fa ct, before the first phase, he addressed meetings both at Saurashtra and south G ujarat on the same day. Modi loyalist stands out in the crowd in Guajarat. Even on the day his party released the manifesto, Modi had meetings lined up, th e closest one being at Viramgam and the furthest at Porbandar, which he did afte r releasing BJP's "commitment charter". "It is a wonder as to how he can manage so much of energy to do this," says Para g Seth, Modi's fan and a mid level party worker. "What is all the more impressive is that despite all the travelling, the fatigue does not show and his addresses are always invigorating," he adds. DIGITALLY EMPOWERED IN THE RACE

Even his worst detractors admit that Narendra Modi has used technology optimally to his advantage. It is this aspect of Narendra Modi that lends him a young and efficient persona, making him irresistible to elite urban voters. While he has been very active on Twitter, his website Narendramodi. in continues to draw larg e number of visitors. Then came the Google hangout where he interacted with the youth, in a first for the politicos in India. A BJP worker shows his support for Modi during an election rally. In a first of its kind, he also had a mobile application, which connected him to smartphone users. But he pulled out the biggest rabbit when he campaigned acros s the state through three dimensional holographic projection technology, again a first for Indian politics. While the first few addresses saw some glitches, the process was a big hit with Gujarati voters, arousing appreciation from the urban ones and awe from those in the rural areas. ENGAGING WITH HIS PEOPLE As he walks up to the dais, the crowd breaks into applause. He waves like a king and pauses before he begins his speech. The unruly crowd soon settles down. Modi's biggest strength lies in his direct c onnect with the people, whom he engages with ease. Instead of delivering a speec h, he talks to the crowd, asking questions and touching nerves. He makes them la ugh as he derides Congress, and even the mention of "Soniaben" raises laughter f rom the crowd, which expects acerbic deliveries to follow. He laughs with them, obliges them and then turns derision to anger. From asking Sonia to do her "home work", he roars on Prime Minister's comment on "minorities living in fear" as he tears into the Congress and many in the crowd nod in agreement. He asks questions and waits for answers, making his speeches more of a dialogue. In between he punches in the most important message - vote for BJP in Gujarat t o get rid of Congress in Delhi. And his message is not lost on a receptive crowd. THE SUPPORTING CAST OF MODI'S ROAD SHOW Apart from Narendra Modi, three other campaigners have been a big hit with BJP i n Gujarat; BJP national vice president Purushottam Rupala, President of BJP Mahi la Morcha Smriti Irani and actor Paresh Rawal (right) . While Rupala is an eloqu ent speaker with strong grip over Saurashtra and himself a Kadva Patel, his stro ngest point is his connect with the grassroots and he excels in touching the loc al issues and laces his address with humour and controlled aggression. Actor tur ned politician Smirti Irani has also been a big hit with the voters with her ico nic bahu role in a tele-serial earlier; her effortless speeches in Gujarati alon g with humour and powerful advocacy for Narendra Modi makes her another big draw for Gujarat BJP. Gujarati superstar Paresh Rawal too has been a big hit with th e voters. Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gujarat-elections-2012-narendra -modi-sonia-gandhi-rahul-gandhi/1/238013.html