It was a saffron surge, at least in this part of Vadodara built by Sayajirao Gaekwad III, on Wednesday, the last day of filing nominations as BJP?s PM candidate Narendra Modi’s road show began from Kirti Stambh ? the victory pillar ? opposite the Lakshmi Vilas palace, which is a central part of the old city and part of the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency.
Modi arrived nearly an hour late to chants of ?Modi… Modi!? by the crowd, mostly BJP workers in saffron caps and scarves, and to the beating of drums as women from the RSS, wearing the nine-yard saree, waited with diyas to welcome him.
Riding an open jeep, Modi was dressed in a cream full-sleeved kurta with a dark orange coatee, repeated from the December 25, 2012, Kankaria rally where he celebrated BJP?s victory in the assembly elections.
Jayshreeben Korane, one of the women from the RSS, said: ?200 of us have come to welcome Modi.?
Accompanied by ministers Anandi Patel, Saurabh Patel, Nitin Patel and BJP state unit chief RC Faldu and campaign convener Purshottam Rupala, Modi’s Z-plus security cavalcade crawled through Marathi-dominated to mixed areas, passing by Khanderao Market, Rajmahal Road and Raopura to reach the collectorate at Kothi.
Sixty-seven-year-old Maltiben Nayak, who has been running the Siddheshwari tea stall on this road for the last few years, braved the crowds to watch Modi waving the victory sign. ?But of course I’ll vote for the BJP,? she said. Shameembano Malek from Pittamitar mohalla on Rajmahal road also watched with an excited bunch of women. Asked whom she would vote for, she said ?Modi?, smiling when asked about the 2002 riots.
Mohammad Iqbal, from the same mohalla with over 60 Muslim houses, said he supported Modi because of the BJP corporator who has goodwill there. ?We have come to welcome Modi because we feel he is a good person,? he said carrying a banner saying ?Pittamitar Muslim Mohalla.?
Every 500-odd metres, different communities such as the Valmiki Samaj, Pattni (Modi) Modh Ghanchi Gnyati Samaj and Rashtriya Muslim Manch of the RSS, had set up a stage to welcome Modi. ?For me, all are the same, what does it matter?? asked 76-year-old Kalubhai Haji Gulam Md Patel, a former employee in the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, when asked about his vote on April 30 at Khanderao Market area.
On Rajmahal road, the electronics goods market of Vadodara, various communities and BJP workers showered rose and marigold petals, as the Brahmin samaj started chanting shlokas and blowing the conch.
Naseembano Doodhwala and her neighbours excitedly watched the show, which they said they had never seen before from Akbari Mohalla on Rajmahal road. ?We will vote for BJP because we will get edible oil tins and jaggery,? she said, adding that local leaders had promised them so.
More than Modi, they said they would vote for the BJP because of Bhupendrabhai Kachhiya, the former corporator from the area whose wife Gita is now the corporator. ?We are only concerned with people who do our work, and Bhupendrabhai is always available. For the last two years we have been voting for BJP because of him,? Naseembano said.
All of Akbari mohalla, however, does not go with them.
Zakirhusain, a local businessman standing with a group of curious onlookers, said: ?So far we have been voting for the Congress. In any case, this government believes only in advertisement.?
Riddhi Patel, a first-year student who will vote for the first time this election, carried a banner saying: ?Mere jeevan ka pehla mat Bhajpa ke naam (the first vote of my life will be for BJP)?. ?He (Modi) is a crowd pul-ler, a mass leader. I can?t think of any other leader in this country,? she said.
Duliram Pedawala, a popular sweetmeat shop, in Raopura area distributed free pedas. ?This is for Modi?s victory,? said a man.
At Jubilee garden in Raopura, a readymade garments store had changed all its mannequins into saffron clothes to go with the flow. Raopura assembly constituency is a BJP bastion represented by BJP MLA Yogesh Patel.
Huge sound systems played Mahendra Kapoor’s patriotic numbers, amid Chak De India and a parodied version of Shirdi wale Sai baba on Modi. ?Last there was an Indira wave, now it is Modi’s turn,? said Chandreshbhai K Shah, an accountant who had come to the collector?s office for work from Bodeli taluka, as he was made to wait till Modi filed his nomination papers.
Inputs from Kumar Anand and Hiral Dave
