‘Modi expressed people’s emotions’

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister’s Office on Monday clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not downgrade anyone or claim credit for the BJP’s comprehensive Lok Sabha win during interactions with British author Lance Price. Communications expert Price, whose book ‘The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi’s Campaign to Transform India’ has been released recently, had exclusive access to the BJP leader on several occasions during research for his work.

“In all corners of the country, they believed Modi was the only hope and wanted to see him win,” Modi told Price. “Past elections have shown Indian culture is such that people have tremendous faith and trust in the individual. People wanted clarity about who the leading person will be and I was seeing this question asked in every meeting I attended and hearing vociferous chants of ‘give us a trusted name, not a party name’,” Modi had told the author.“He just expressed people’s emotions,” said the PMO.

On Modi’s meeting with an astrologer soon after his victory in the 2002 Gujarat elections, the PMO said the BJP leader had asked why no one predicted his becoming chief minister.

Citing his belief in ‘Maro Bhagya Vidhata (putting oneself at the disposition of God’s will)’, Modi had said, “If this is the case, why be afraid? I have never worn a bulletproof jacket.”

The PMO maintained that instead of going by the astrologer, Modi was “stressing on destiny”. Modi’s question to the astrologer apparently followed the prediction that God had the prime minister’s post in store for him.