Such is the poll wave in the city several NRIs have come to India to cast their votes, while some have even come for election campaigning. Most of them view this election as a watershed one and hope that this will change the destiny of India.

Twentyeight-year-old Rishi Panjwani, a California-based software engineer, has just come to Mumbai to cast his vote. "I have been working in California for the last seven years. Most of my friends and relatives believe that nothing changes in this country. However, this time along, I became excited with the intensity of the campaign and everyone wants to vote and I just succumbed to it. I feel that we are destined for a change. That is the only reason why I took so much trouble to come and cast my vote," said Panjwani.

Mehul Bastawala, a IIT-Bombay graduate, based in California is part of several campaigns, including the Volunteers for a Better India (VBI), which helps NRIs in voter registration.

"We NRIs are coming to vote because we care for India and want it to improve. All of us want a better India. The golden age for India can come back," said Bastawala.

"By not voting we are sending a message that we do not care and the government also does not care. By voting now for the right candidate and party can best improve India, we can look back and say I was part of it and I helped in rebuilding India," said Bastwala.

Dubai-based jeweler Ashvani Ramchandani, 27, said, "I have my own business in Dubai, but I was politically aware and also in touch with the happenings in the country. I have seen first-hand development in Gujarat, right from the time of the earthquake. I came to Mumbai and I have been campaigning for the BJP. I have been entrusted with the job of calling people from a database created by the BJP and convincing them to become volunteers for the party and I have been successful in that. I will be going back to Dubai after the election. I hope for a better India and by voting I am showing my patriotism."

Yokohama-based housewife Mamta Nigam came to India on April 3 and is campaigning for the BJP. "I have been associated with a lot of NGOs in India. This time I came to campaign in places like Delhi, Maharashtra and UP. I want India to change. There is degeneration in society and I think Narendra Modi can bring in progress in the country," said Nigam.