Narendra Modi storms UP BJP Headquarters through an array of merchandise

By: Vasuda Venugopal
LUCKNOW: The BJP headquarters in Lucknow, in addition to hosting political confabulations, has also turned a fair of sorts. On sale are an array of merchandise bearing the bearded and bespectacled likeness of the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Under the shade of unfurled BJP flags, stalls are selling Modi badges, Modi kurtas, Modi stickers, Modi gamchas (towels) — all for men. While the BJP’s lotus symbol is present, the face of Modi is most prominent. The women ‘karyakartas’ for now have to be content with the newly launched Modi shawls and Modi stoles in silk with his face along the border. Also available is a Modi ladies’ purse — a saffron pouch carrying the legend, ‘Desh ki zaroorat — Modi aur kamal’, and sari pins with his sparkly image.

"Till now we had only BJP saris and BJP bindis, both with lotuses on them, for women, but the Modi shawls are becoming very popular with our volunteers. Even men are using them," said JK Agarwal of Sriram traders, one of the distributors of BJP merchandise. The fastest-selling items are the ‘Modi for PM’ badges and caps with ‘Modi Lao, Desh Bachao.’ Pinki Mishra, who runs the stalls at the Lucknow office, said that publicity material worth `35,000 is sold everyday for the past month. "We replenish the stock daily, because people tend to buy in bulk. There is a constant stream of buyers from 10 am in the morning to 9 in the evening, after which we immediately inform the dealers for the next day’s order, which arrives early in the morning."

Near her stall is a bookshop boasting of titles such as Namo Bhakti, Namo Vani and Namo Bhavishya, apart from several other works written by local writers.

An especially popular book is Namo Mantra, a book that contains "Modi’s vision of development." "It is a quick read to understand Modi and people buy it to gift it to others too," said Raju Srivastav of Kanhaiyalal Enterprises. The Modi mukhota is also a big hit as are the Modi Kahani picture books. Books on other leaders are also available, said Srivastav, but these are not as popular as those on Modi.

Other BJP leaders have a marginal presence. Merchandise on Rajnath Singh usually has pictures of him shaking hands with Modi, while Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani are featured on stickers and badges. Some senior karyakartas prefer to use the Vajpayee stickers on their cars but the Modi one is the big seller.

"Many are not Modi fans, but he is the one who is popular among voters so karyakartas prefer to buy his stuff. We got masks of Advani and Rajnath Singh made too, but there were hardly any takers," said Mishra.