Lok Sabha polls: Narendra Modi embraces 3D public appearances, shelves 'Chai pe Charcha' campaign

GANDHINAGAR: BJP candidate for Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has abruptly dropped his much-publicized Chai pe Charcha campaign. If sources are to be believed, the Charchas held so far had not evoked the expected response. As a result, Modi has returned to the tried and tested campaign tools of public rallies and 3D public appearances.

Earlier, on February 4, senior BJP leader and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, had announced before journalists in Delhi that 10-15 rounds of 'Chai pe Charcha' campaign had been planned for Modi. She had also said that 1,000 locations had been identified for the event that would be broadcast from February 12. "We plan to do one 'chai charcha' every five days, and will attempt to reach out to two crore people," she had said. But so far Modi has organized only three Chai pe Charcha shows, one in February and two in March.

A senior BJP leader involved with Modi's campaign plans, said that though Chai pe Charcha was an innovative concept and had the potential to reach out to a large number of people, the feedback was not as encouraging as expected. "Hence, the idea has been dropped for now. The CM is focusing on traditional public rallies because personal appearance has far greater impact on voters than appearances made through long-distance technology," the BJP leader said.

Sources in the BJP said that compared to Chai pe Charcha, the 3D-holographic public rallies had proved more successful.

"A large number of people can participate in the 3D event which is held in the open at the same time. So Modi is focusing on organizing as many public rallies through 3D appearances as possible. Chai pe Charcha was proving more time-consuming and was technically more complicated than 3D technology," a source said.