Vadnagar-Varanasi yatras, influencer tours: How BJP plans to mark Modi’s 25 years in office

From exchanging holy water between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthplace Vadnagar and his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi to taking social media influencers on tours of significant sites to showcase the transformation under his leadership, the BJP has firmed up 13 programmes to mark the completion of Modi’s 25 years in public office – first as the Gujarat Chief Minister and then as the PM.The BJP is going to organise these programmes across the country under the “Seva Sankalp Abhiyan” from September 17, Modi’s birthday, to October 17.A key feature of the campaign will be the “Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra”, under which about 50 “parivartankari sthals” — places seen to have undergone “transformation” during the Modi regime — will be selected by the ruling party. Influencers, bloggers and digital content creators will be taken to these locations to see the changes first-hand and disseminate them through their platforms. The BJP high command has asked the state party units to identify places where there have been positive changes in public safety, economy and growth opportunities. In its notes sent to the state units, the party leadership has cited Bastar, Gujarat’s GIFT City and innovation centres like iCreate as examples in this regard. “The party leadership has suggested that 300 to 500 people can be sent on a tour of Bastar. Every state unit will name a nodal officer and set up a local facilitation team for these tours. The ABVP (the RSS’ student wing) can also be roped in,” said a veteran BJP worker.

In Uttar Pradesh, sites such as the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Kashi Vishwanath corridor, defence corridor, expressways and airports are being considered for these visits. Modi, who will turn 76 on September 17, took oath as the PM for the third consecutive term on June 9, 2024. He took oath as the 15th PM on May 26, 2014, and was sworn in for his second term on May 30, 2019.Story continues below this ad Before becoming the PM, Modi had been the Gujarat CM for four terms from October 2001 to May 2014, emerging as its longest-serving CM. He took charge as the Gujarat CM for the first time on October 7, 2001. ‘Janmabhoomi’ to ‘karmabhoomi’ To establish a link between Modi’s “janmabhoomi”, Vadnagar in Gujarat, and “karmabhoomi”, Varanasi in UP, the BJP is going to take out the “Jal, Jan aur Seva Sankalp Yatra” from both cities. About 500 BJP activists, riding 250 motorcycles as part of 10 teams, would collect holy water from Sharmishtha Lake in Vadnagar and travel to Varanasi to perform “jalabhishek” at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. A similar batch of bike-borne party workers would carry Gangajal from Varanasi to Vadnagar. These 20 teams would take separate routes and spend more time in UP, which is slated for the Assembly polls in February 2027. Along their routes, they would screen short films on LED screens, speak to people about government schemes and record their feedback.Story continues below this ad “These teams will hold programmes at 60 to 80 places daily,” said a BJP leader associated with the campaign. Beneficiaries to youth On September 17, the BJP leaders, ministers, MLAs and MPs would light earthen lamps or “Ashirwad ka diya” at the houses of beneficiaries of various welfare schemes, including the Covid vaccination beneficiaries, of the BJP-led central and state governments. They would hail Modi for his 25 years of public service and his stated resolve to build a “Viksit Bharat” by 2047. State governments would provide the lists of beneficiaries to the party’s booth committee members to facilitate the event. The drawing and debate competitions will be held in government and private schools under the “25 crore Bachchon ke Sapnon ka Bharat” programme from September 17 to October 7. Under “Namo Seva Gatha”, street plays would be staged at many places to present stories of change and Modi’s arc in public life. The BJP would provide logistical support for these 30-minute plays – including videos, scripts, Hindi audio and stage-design material – involving the Fine Arts colleges. Their reels will be shared on social media.Story continues below this ad Under “Aangan ka Utsav”, Anganwadi workers and their team members will be felicitated at their centres between September 25 and October 7. A national-level competition, “Kahani Badlao ki”, would seek inspiring stories of 25 lakh people who have brought about changes in their lives through various government schemes. The BJP workers would record 60-second reels of each “success story” to be shared by the party ministers and CMs. On October 7, “Seva Jyoti Yatras” will be taken out in every district. A specially designed vehicle carrying an “akhand jyoti” would travel through the district, led by a person carrying a torch. Under the “Seva Mera Yogdan” drive, the BJP is going to hold 25 service-oriented events, including blood donation camps, plantation drives, health camps and voter-awareness programmes. A parallel “Seva Setu Abhiyan” will see camps being set up in every block and Assembly constituency to help people access government schemes. A function for drawing a 108-metre “Bharat Mandal” rangoli would also be organised.Story continues below this ad Focusing on the youth, the BJP will also organise a National Innovation Challenge at five places – in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata – where students, corporate innovators, professionals and start-up founders would be invited. Viksit Bharat push On October 17, the final day of the month-long campaign, the BJP is planning to hold a “Jansevak Mahakumbh — Panchayat se Parliament tak” either in Delhi or Varanasi or some other places like Gurugram or Surajkund. About 1.25 lakh elected representatives, from sarpanches to MPs, are expected to assemble at one location for this event to honour Modi. The party is also aiming for a Guinness World Records entry by having its participants collectively sing all six stanzas of the national song Vande Mataram. At this event, a resolution on “Viksit Bharat ke Sankalp” is likely to be moved by either Union Home Minister Amit Shah or Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, which will be adopted by the gathering, sources said.Story continues below this ad In the BJP-ruled states, the entire campaign will be undertaken in coordination with the central and state governments. In UP, for instance, a control room will be set up in the CM’s Office to monitor it, with daily updates to be provided to CM Yogi Adityanath. The chief development officers in each district will serve as nodal officers for the programmes. In the Opposition-ruled states, the BJP plans to focus primarily on the beneficiaries of the central schemes and those programmes implemented by the previous BJP governments there.