PM Narendra Modi (Source: Express Photo/Renuka Puri) PM Narendra Modi (Source: Express Photo/Renuka Puri)

The ruling BJP is looking at an audio clip of a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vadodara-based party worker Gopal Gohil on the day of Diwali as a morale booster for its cadre ahead of the Assembly elections. The party hopes that the telephonic conversation will help address the “negative sentiment” which is creeping in among the party workers due to the anti-BJP campaign launched by the Opposition.

In an audio clip of the conversation, Modi reminds Gohil of Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s “maut ka saudagar (merchant of death)” jibe at him in the run-up to the 2007 Gujarat Assembly polls, and assures the party worker that “public can decipher the truth”. The October 19 telephonic call, which has since gone viral, used the audio bridge conference technology, enabling around 20,000 BJP workers to listen to the conversation at once.

The clip has Modi calling up Gohil, a stationery store owner in Vadodara, who in the course of conversation asks the PM: “In the wake of incidents in Gujarat in the recent times and the anti-BJP campaign by the Congress, what can be done to bring the party workers out of the resulting negative mindset?” Modi’s three-minute reply to Gohil is a pep talk where he says, “Look brother, ever since the Jan Sangh was born and we became part of it, we have been destined to be abused. We have been hurled with abuses, and (yet) reached where we are. So, you should not worry about it.”

Gohil conscientiously agrees with the PM, who goes on to say, “Tame mane kaho, ek bhi chutni joi che.. jhoothana nathi chaalya hoy…Maut no saudagar… ena thi mota- hatyara, lohi thi khardayela haath, su su na kehvayu… pan janta satya no ranko samajhti hoy che… pehla afvaao kaano kaan felavi padti thi… havey Whatsapp madad kare afvaa felavava maa… (You tell me, has there been any election when lies were not spread? They called me maut ka saudagar (merchant of death)… even worse… they called me a murderer and someone whose hands are stained with blood. But, public can decipher the truth. Previously, rumours had to be spread by word of mouth, now Whatsapp helps those who wish to spread rumours, that is the difference.)

On Wednesday, Modi, acknowledging the “conversation”, had tweeted, “Have always known Gopalbhai as a wonderful person and now the nation too knows him :).” When contacted, Gohil, 47, told The Indian Express he had met Modi once during the Sadbhavna rally in Gandhinagar in 2011 when he was chief minister, and “had shaken hands with him”. Gohil said: “I and my family have been blessed to be chosen for this conversation with Modiji. I know, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. I was told to stay connected to the conference, but I had not expected that my number would be randomly selected for this conversation. I am thrilled.”

Gohil said his question stemmed from what he has been observing around him. He said, “I wanted to ask Modiji what he thinks about this anti-BJP campaign and the Patidar issues that are maligning the image of the party and the leadership. It is affecting the morale of the workers and therefore, I wanted him to show us a path, which he did. This conversation has given a fresh boost to our commitment to the party. It has turned me into a celebrity as many party colleagues have been calling to congratulate me.”

According to BJP leaders, the conversation is part of a new exercise by the party to re-group its workers, who are falling into a “negativity” due to an intense campaign by the opposition in Gujarat. In coming days, the PM will directly address the party workers through a video conference, allaying concerns of the cadre, they said.

The telephonic conversation begins with Gohil and Modi exchanging greetings for Diwali, after which, he poses the question to the Prime Minister. Modi goes on to tell Gohil, and around 20,000 party workers listening to the conversation that they must “not waste their time” worrying about the anti-BJP campaign, gossip, and lies spread by others, and instead, they should “concentrate on spreading the word of truth”. Modi says, “We have given our blood and sweat for welfare of the people. The BJP has been in power for so long that these people have no credibility to make allegations against us. We are on a strong wicket. We must only take our good work to people.”

A senior party functionary said, “Over the last few weeks, we have observed during our internal meetings that party workers are questioning the strength of the BJP in the upcoming Assembly polls. The blitz of public rallies by opposition parties as well as fringe caste leaders, and the response that their rallies are getting have caused a bit of negativity to seep into the cadre. This situation was further aggravated when an internal report received by the party from ground agencies indicated an anti-incumbency. So, the high command decided that Modiji will reach out to the party workers to instil confidence in them once again.”

The leader added that the party was confident of a grand victory in December. “This is just a passing phase. We have no doubt that our performance will be splendid in the polls.” As part of the exercise, Modi will continue to make “phone calls” to party leaders at various levels of hierarchy. Vadodara BJP general secretary Keyur Rokadia said that the party will make use of the audio bridge conference technology, enabling the PM to connect with thousands of party workers through a single phone call.

Those connected to the conference call can hear Modi’s conversation with one worker, who is “randomly selected”, as in case of Gohil. Rokadia said, “The party has database of 25,000 phone numbers at various levels — state, district, city, ward and booth. Modiji spoke with eight people on that day, including two district-level leaders, two ward members and three booth-level workers. This exercise will continue in the days to come through the audio bridge technology.”

Rokadia, who was connected to one of the phone conferences on October 19, added, “He (Modi) gave an encouraging talk to the listeners and then a random number was chosen to ask a question…” Rokadia denied that the questions asked by the party workers had been vetted. Rokadia said, “The aim of the exercise is to allow party workers to ask questions from Modiji directly. These are questions that the party workers are facing. They want to ask Narendrabhai the questions. In the coming days, there will also be video bridge sessions with party workers through the Narendra Modi App.”

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