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Enthusiastic overseas Modi fans are also not leaving any stone unturned to make what they call the “Judgment Day” a memorable event.
He may have drawn inspiration from Bollywood showman Raj Kapoor. Even minor events showcasing Kapoor — his seeking blessings from father Prithviraj Kapoor, muhurat and jubilees of films, celebrations of Holi and Diwali at RK Studios in Mumbai — used to attract many eyeballs in the 1950s-1970s period due to their sheer spectacle and razzmatazz. These events were filmed and exhibited in theatres. Their footage is still shown on television.
Narendra Modi, with cameramen in tow, has been visiting his mother Hiraben for years, both as Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Prime Minister. His penance after the 2002 riots, his temple and Narmada visits, his bowing at the footsteps of Parliament in 2014 were all screened and telecast repeatedly. Recently, the Vivek Oberoi-helmed biopic and Modi’s Kedarnath visit, too, attracted similar public space. Modi had also fathered the selfie frenzy in India soon after he voted in Ahmedabad in 2014.
Modi’s frenzied supporters are no different. Even before the final results of Lok Sabha elections are declared, they have been busy making preparations across India to celebrate the ‘great day’, May 23. In fact, so confident have Modi and BJP President Amit Shah been about their return to power that, after the ‘favourable’ exit polls, they even hosted a dinner for the NDA partners on Tuesday.
For the first time in the US, they are organizing a “Return of NaMo2.0” event at a Woodbury theatre in Minneapolis where election results will be screened live for viewers shelling out an entry fee of USD 10 and buying a mandatory NaMo T-shirt for an additional $10. The organisers have promised a “nerve wracking, nail-biting suspense thriller” on the vote counting night (in the USA).
Similar events are also being organized at different places by the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) in the United Kingdom, Canada, Mauritius, the UAE, Singapore, Malaysia and other places. Hundreds of OFBJP members from abroad had recently flown to India to participate in the BJP’s high-voltage campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, polling for which concluded on May 19. They also organised “Main Bhi Chowkidar” and “NRIs4Modi” events in the countries of their residence.
A report from Australia said NaMo fans are organising similar events on Thursday at bars and other meeting places across cities for the announcement of poll results.
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