With his Robertsganj rally in Uttar Pradesh, BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s massive election campaign completed on Saturday. Besides travelling for more than 5,00,000 km across the length and breadth of the country, he made the election campaign unique by using 3-D hologram technology and social media.
The Gujarat Chief Minister was declared the prime ministerial candidate of the saffron party on September 13, 2013. He initiated poll campaign for the 2014 lok Sabha election on September 15 by addressing ex-Armymen’s rally at Revari in Haryana. Since then, he didn’t take break and continued extensive travelling across the country till May 10, 2014.
“He (Modi) created an atmosphere not only for his party, but also for the NDA allies by travelling 25 States, that too more than once in every State, during his aggressive campaign. He utilised three choppers and two Jets to save time and reach out distant places. Despite extensive travelling of more than 5 lakh kilometers in nearly 8 months, accurate planning and organizational skill of ‘Team Modi’ was unmatched,” said a source closely associated with Modi’s campaigning activities.
Modi was strategically declared BJP’s prime ministerial candidate ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. In the initial phase he concentrated on these four states, he said adding, “The Assembly elections were semi-final prior to 2014 general elections. For Modi, it was also a litmus test. When the results came, Modi effect was visible. While the BJP could retain power in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, it bounced back in power in Rajasthan. Even in Delhi, the saffron party emerged as the biggest party.”
Even after the Assembly elections, he didn’t waste a single day and continue addressing one rally after another, that too of 2 to 5 lakh people. Till the last week of March, he did 38 big rallies in 21 states. On March 26th, 2014 after taking blessings of Mata Vaishnodevi in Jammu, he took campaigning in top gear and roamed around 25 States and addressed 196 rallies at different locations.
If that was not enough, he decided to address 3-D Hologram rallies from the third week of April. From April 11 to May 10, he completed nearly 12oo 3-D hologram rallies in 91 places. He also utilised technology to answer Congress leader Manishanker Iyer’s Chaiwala jibe on him. From February to March, four rounds of Chai pe Charcha campaign were held in 4,000 different locations. This campaign was not limited to India, but Chai pe Charcha was conducted in 50 locations of 15 different countries.
“From September 13 to May 10, Modi reached to crores of people through 38 initial rallies, 194 ‘Bharat Vijay Vishwas Rallies’, 241 other rallies, 1,200 3-D rallies, four rounds and 4,000 locations of Chai pe Charcha and three road-shows in Vadodara and Varanasi,” he added.