Narendra Modi's victory road show like never before

An Indian PM walking down the tree-lined streets of central Delhi is very uncommon

Nivedita Mookerji Arup Roychoudhury New Delhi

Last Updated : Mar 14 2017 | 9:12 AM IST

The distance between Le Meridien hotel and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters on 11, Ashok Road, in the heart of Lutyens Delhi is hardly 600 metres. On a normal day, you can cover the distance by foot in not more than five to seven minutes.

On Sunday, however, only a braveheart would seek to cover that stretch at all. It was entirely a sea of saffron and green BJP flags, fluttering in the spring breeze. An estimated 10,000 BJP workers, supporters and voters descended to celebrate the BJP’s, and essentially Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, thumping election victory in Uttar Pradesh.

Wearing BJP scarves and caps, they chanted the PM’s name and waved the party flag. They were all waiting for the man currently seen as India’s biggest mass leader.

Central Delhi was barricaded hours before Modi arrived. At least 1,000 police personnel were positioned for several kilometres up to the BJP headquarters, where almost the entire Cabinet and party biggies were spotted going. The crowd screamed in unison when they spotted Home Minister Rajnath Singh and party chief Amit Shah before Modi showed up. People also kept their mobile phones ready for selfies.

Modi and Shah were the central figures in billboards all around Ashok Road. ‘Bharat Ko Kaam Pasand Hai’ (India likes work) was the signature line, a pun on the Samajwadi Party-Congress slogan of ‘UP Ko Yeh Saath Pasand Hai’ (UP likes this coalition). Thousands of large Modi cutouts were another prominent feature as people waited for hours.

The Modi roadshow covering that 600-metre stretch was expected to start after 4 pm. It was not until 6.15 pm that he made an appearance. Crowds had swelled much before that and even senior party leaders and ministers found it difficult to make their way to the headquarters. They were all mobbed by supporters seeking selfies.

When the PM appeared, he did not do so on the top of a campaign vehicle or in his official BMW. He walked down Ashok Road, flanked by his Special Protection Group security detail and the usual cavalcade. On both sides were supporters behind barriers formed by security personnel, clicking pictures, waving and cheering frantically.

He walked victorious like American Presidents walk down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC on their inauguration day. An Indian PM walking down the tree-lined streets of central Delhi is very uncommon. Modi, the astute mass leader, walked because he knew this would connect him with the crowd like nothing else would.