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Reaching out to future voters
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set his eyes clearly on the 2019 elections. His campaign mode that seems to have been perfected with various shades of public relations was in full evidence when he addressed a nation-wide audience on the occasion of the Teachers’ Day.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set his eyes clearly on the 2019 elections. His campaign mode that seems to have been perfected with various shades of public relations was in full evidence when he addressed a nation-wide audience on the occasion of the Teachers’ Day.
Though the event was for the students and teachers primarily, its nation-wide outreach through television, internet and the social media networks enlarged its scope. The political undertone in the informal format could hardly be missed.
‘Invite me to your swearing in 2024, prepare for it and I will come. It also means that I do not have any threat till then,” he told a student who asked whether he could become the PM some day.
It could be safely expected that this was a programme that would now become a part of Modi’s annual calendar. The format might have some innovative changes, but the opportunity for an outreach and some kind of a direct contact with the students would always be out to good use. All those above the age of 14 in today’s lot could be expected to become first time voters when the 2019 general elections are held, and Modi would have reached out to them for five consecutive years. An effective communicator, he could be expected to reap a rich harvest of support from this segment when the time comes next.
With a collective “Yes Sir,” to various interactive questions from the prime minister, the students were establishing a participative connect with him, and considering that at this age such interactions leave lasting impacts on young minds, this school gathering could leave behind suitably impressed children.
For instance, Modi’s response to a question from a student who asked:” What will you gain by interacting with students today?” was quite revealing. “There are things that should be done without getting in return. I dream of doing things. Keep doing and in the process if you become something it is good, but there is a lot of joy in doing,” he said, and this summed up the afternoon’s experience.
