The tea vendors at the Railway Station here have developed an emotional connect with Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
These vendors believe that Modi has given them a distinct identity and pride. Modi, during his hectic election campaign, has time and again mentioned about his being born in a very poor family and the struggle he has gone through in life. He also mentions in his speeches that he used to sell tea in the trains and helped his father who owned a tea stall at Vadnagar railway station in Mehsana district of Gujarat.
The tea vendors share a bonding with Narendra Modi, a former fellow Chai Wala (tea vendor), and feel that he should be given an opportunity to run the country. Daulat Ram Sati, a tea vendor at platform no 2 of the Dehradun Railway station, feels that since Modi understands the problems of the poor more than anyone else, he can do a better work for their welfare. Showing a remarkable awareness, Sati, who has been selling tea at the platform for more than 25 years, told this correspondent that the country felt ashamed when the Pakistani soldiers cut the throats of Indian soldiers at the international border and the Indian Government kept silent.
He said that he will close his stall for a day on May 16 and watch the television for election results at home. Another tea vendor at Railway station, Sanjay Jain, said that it should be checked whether Modi was a tea vendor or he is merely using this as a ploy to fool the poor. Santosh Soni, who runs a tea vending machine at railway station, said that he is impressed by the oratory skills of Modi.
Raju Saxena, who owns a small tea stall just outside the railway station, said that making tea does not require much skills, so lakhs of people across the country sell tea to make a living. He claimed that all these tea walas are closely watching this elections as a former tea vendor could become the PM.
Saxena even offered to distribute free tea for a day if Modi becomes PM. The astute politician, Modi, is carrying the tag of Chaiwala with gusto in these elections. He quickly grabbed the opportunity when senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that a tea vendor cannot become the PM. Modi cleverly made this an election issue and targeted the Congress for its anti-poor stance.