Reach out to booths and households: Modi to BJP workers

Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the party rank and file to concentrate on running a grounded election campaign focusing on booths and households as he said polls are not won through rallies and TV debates.

Addressing the BJP national council in New Delhi, Modi gave simple, commonsensical suggestions to the party cadre ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

 Striking a note of sarcasm, the Gujarat chief minister said, "We cannot beat Congress in their way of running a campaign. We do not have the ability to spend such money, misuse state machinery or resort to any dirty tricks. The power we have is the power of organisation."

He asked party workers to touch an emotional cord with people when they go on a door-to-door campaign. "When you go to collect 'one note' for the party to 10 crore families, you should ask them what they want from their government, ask them don't you want change. Talk to them about issues they are emotional about," he said.

Modi, a former general secretary (organisation) of BJP, said he is speaking as a party organisation man and not as the PM candidate of the party.

"The more grounded our campaign is, the greater will be its benefit. A poll victory takes birth in a polling booth and not in public rallies, TV debates, posters or through magazines... Losing in a polling booth does not win you elections," Modi said.

He told party workers that in each booth, which has around 700 votes, they should try to ensure that 350 votes are cast for BJP. "This means you have to reach out to 100 families per booth," he said.

Some of the suggestions which struck an instant cord with the cadre was to get BJP symbol lotus applied in henna on the palms of 10 crore women across the country by February end, show BJP videos to groups of 25-30 women in different places every day, and touching an emotional cord with people.