A BJP worker serves tea to a passerby
Bangalore:
Narendra Modi will begin his 'chai pe charcha' campaign on Wednesday, but the BJP has already been organising "Modi chai" events to highlight the modest origins of its prime ministerial candidate, who sold tea on trains as a young boy.
At these meetings, the BJP distributes chai or tea to members of the public. More than 100 are planned in Bangalore. At event number 39, held in the upmarket area next to Sankey Tank, things were overall lukewarm.
The tea arrived late, and the public response wasn't exactly impressive. The party workers there however remained resolutely upbeat. Even grateful, tongue firmly in cheek, to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, who earned much opprobrium last month when he made a comment about Mr Modi's origin as a tea-boy, provoking the BJP's campaign.
"We are very thankful to Mani Shankar Aiyer. He has given us a new challenge - we are in an era that we still can't believe that people talk like this. We have taken this as a challenge to reach out to people that even a chai-wala can become the next prime minister," said Sapthagiri Gowda, who heads the BJP Yuva Morcha in Bangalore City.
The party's MLA from Malleswaram, Ashwath Narayan, said, "Any person in this democratic set up gets an opportunity to become prime minister. Insulting a person because of his profession does not go down well."
At Sankey Tank, walkers and joggers who emerged from a park in the area were offered tea. An elderly man sipped from his cup and observed, "It is nice - it is very good. Narendra Modi is the right man."
Another young man, sweating after his jog, said, "They should be giving some fruit juice!"
Mr Modi as prime minister might not be everybody's cup of tea - the BJP did fare badly in the Karnataka's assembly elections last year despite his campaign - but his party is doing its utmost to make the idea more palatable in Bangalore.
At these meetings, the BJP distributes chai or tea to members of the public. More than 100 are planned in Bangalore. At event number 39, held in the upmarket area next to Sankey Tank, things were overall lukewarm.
The tea arrived late, and the public response wasn't exactly impressive. The party workers there however remained resolutely upbeat. Even grateful, tongue firmly in cheek, to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, who earned much opprobrium last month when he made a comment about Mr Modi's origin as a tea-boy, provoking the BJP's campaign.
"We are very thankful to Mani Shankar Aiyer. He has given us a new challenge - we are in an era that we still can't believe that people talk like this. We have taken this as a challenge to reach out to people that even a chai-wala can become the next prime minister," said Sapthagiri Gowda, who heads the BJP Yuva Morcha in Bangalore City.
The party's MLA from Malleswaram, Ashwath Narayan, said, "Any person in this democratic set up gets an opportunity to become prime minister. Insulting a person because of his profession does not go down well."
At Sankey Tank, walkers and joggers who emerged from a park in the area were offered tea. An elderly man sipped from his cup and observed, "It is nice - it is very good. Narendra Modi is the right man."
Another young man, sweating after his jog, said, "They should be giving some fruit juice!"
Mr Modi as prime minister might not be everybody's cup of tea - the BJP did fare badly in the Karnataka's assembly elections last year despite his campaign - but his party is doing its utmost to make the idea more palatable in Bangalore.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
