Narendra Modi takes part in the 'chai pe charcha' campaign in Ahmedabad on February 12
Many tea vendors like Jaiveer Jasiwal, whose grimy family-run stand can be found in the old Delhi, dream of bigger things. But few ever thought one of their own might one day rise to be a candidate for prime minister.
Thanks to an ill-advised political barb from Congress lawmaker Mani Shankar Aiyar, who mocked the BJP's Narendra Modi's time as a
chai wallah (tea boy), tea stands have been thrust centrestage in a bitter campaign for the national elections due by May.
On Wednesday night, Mr Modi began
Chai pe Charcha (Discussion over Tea), which saw him slurp a glass in Ahmedabad and take questions about governance.
The event was broadcast to tea stands and their working class clients across the country in 300 cities, including Jasiwal's, a stone's throw from the Red Fort in Delhi.
"He (Modi) represents people like us who have small means, but big dreams," said Jasiwal, 28. "And if he can do it and I can sort of do it, then anyone can do anything. PM, doctor, teacher, actor, anything," he said.
Mr Modi, 64, is pitching a message of jobs, development, aspiration and social mobility.
One of his perceived assets is his background as a lower caste former tea boy from western Gujarat who rose through the ranks of grassroots Hindu organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS to become the prime ministerial candidate for the BJP.
In his public addresses, Mr Modi routinely derides his main opponent, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, as a
shahzada or prince.
Speaking at a meeting of the Congress party in January, Mr Aiyar said: "There is no way he can be prime minister in the 21st century... But if he wants to come and serve tea here we can make some room for him."
Mr Gandhi reportedly later condemned the remark in private - although he praised Mr Aiyar publicly at the meeting.
"See their mentality," Mr Modi said recently at a campaign stop in northern Uttar Pradesh, referring to Congress, which has been in power nationally since 2004. "They do not like it if a
chai wallah, a son of a poor mother walks with his head held high...The Congress has insulted the poor, mocked my origins as a tea seller."
In a country where up to 90 per cent of the working population have jobs in the informal sector - like tea stalls - Mr Modi can sell his personal story to a formidable constituency.
"The problem with most politicians, be it Congress or BJP or whoever, is their arrogance," said tea seller Rameez, 33, who works in the Delhi suburb of Noida.
As rickshaw drivers and factory workers waited for a drink he added: "They feel only the rich and educated become prime ministers. At least Modi knows how to make tea, has Aiyar ever made anything himself? Doubtful."