When senior BJP leader Amit Shah arrives in Lucknow on Wednesday, on his first visit as in-charge of UP affairs, he will not have much homework to do.
A voluntary outfit that calls itself ‘Modi’s Army’ is ready with reports on the party organisation in every district and has also prepared a brief report about the issues likely to dominate elections in various constituencies. The army will help him identify the trouble spots and rectify faults wherever they exist.
‘Modi Army’ president Vinod Jain has been touring the state and claims to have interacted with over 2 lakh people so far.
“We have got volunteers in almost every district now and I have personally interacted with a large number of people. It is clear that Narendra Modi is no longer a person, he represents an ideology and people across the country are clamouring for him. In UP, where the Hindutva had been made to subside, people are looking towards Modi for revival,” Mr Jain said. Mr Jain denies that “Modi’s Army” has been set up at the behest of Mr Modi but says that no one can stop people who admire Mr Modi from promoting him.
“Our job is to popularise Mr Modi’s policies and ideologies and tell them how he has transformed Gujarat. The people in UP are stuck in the caste rut and we want to take them out and put them on the road to development. The rest of the exercise will be taken up by the leaders and we are not a part of any party,” said Mr Jain.
Sources, however, claim that “Modi’s Army” has been sending reports on a regular basis to Mr Shah and keeping him posted on developments within the party and outside it.
While “Modi’s Army” is interacting with people, setting up volunteers, distributing pamphlets of his speech and masks, the state BJP unit has no information about this.
“This ‘army’ may be a kind of fans’ association that is working on its own but there is nothing official about it. The media is unnecessarily promoting such people but we cannot stop individuals from promoting a leader of their choice,” said a senior BJP leader.
A senior RSS functionary said that Mr Modi is known to have set up his own workforce in Gujarat and does not depend entirely on the party organisation. The RSS, however, has no information about “Modi’s Army” working in UP.
The active role being played by Modi’s Army has given further credence to reports that Mr Modi could contest the Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow.