Ritu Jha–
More than 500 Overseas Friends of BJP–USA (OFBJP) volunteers have landed in India and over 3000 are working making calls asking voters to go to polling booths in one of the most landmark elections in history. More than 968 million registered voters in India will participate in the seven-phase Lok Sabha election that began on Friday, April 19.
OFBJP President Adapa Prasad, popularly known as Adapaji, has been associated with the party since 1997. In an interview with indica, he said the preparation for India’s Lok Sabha election began during the during the October Assembly elections in 2023, but from January 2024 onwards they got more serious.
“We started campaigning for this election in February, kicked off a 20-city campaign in the US on March 2,” Prasad told indica. “We hosted events every week since then starting on Shiv Ratri (March 8). We hosted Har-Har Modi, Ghar-Ghar Modi, Holi Milan, a car rally, and most recently Modi ka Pariwar march in California, New York, Chicago, and Detroit.
A weekend havan in the Bay Area was also part of our program. It has been performed in other states as well, and this weekend we start the havan again seeking blessings, and reading Hanuman Chalisa in 20 cities. It will continue for four-five days.”
OFBJP volunteers have been calling registered voters in India. “We call India… calling to vote for Modiji and BJP candidates,” said Prasad. He declined to give the number of phone calls made, but said it is “a good number”, and that party officials in India had shared numbers of voters with them.
Around 500 OFBJP volunteers will stay in India for three weeks and will be replaced by the next batch. “Most will come back when the first phase is over,” Prasad said. The seven-phase election dates are April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
Prasad said he visited India in February and travelled to various states such as Delhi, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh to understand the ground reality. “I saw the middle class and even chai shop owners supporting Modi. I saw a saffron flag wave in Nagpur, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Raipur and many more cities,” he said.
Prasad said the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is a unifying monument. “The Ram Temple has created goodwill among people,” he said.
But aren’t people talking about unemployment and inflation? He said, “No, I haven’t heard anything. It’s what only newspapers are writing. To my surprise, people have praise for Modiji on how India is more famous now and US is so friendly to India. People talk about foreign policy and India becoming the fifth largest economy.”
Is India losing its secular nature and becoming polarized? Prasad laughs at the suggestion. “I do not see people in India talking about it, its all about TV debates but on the ground there is silence, no one talks about it. Yes, they are more concerned about roti, kapda and makaan (Food, Clothing, Shelter) and that is the fundamental thing for everybody,” he said.
He added, “There is a some concern about price rise, but they do not blame Modi, they blame Covid and are hopeful that the situation will improve. Modi has much more achievement like the abrogation of Article 370, Ram Temple, and India’s rise and becoming the 5th largest economy in the world.”
Prasad claimed roads in India are better than in the US now. He took a ride in the new Vande Bharat Express trains. “Infrastructure is very good and each time I go it’s so clean and roads are better with connectivity. Vande Bharat runs on time. Tickets are a little more expensive, but people are enjoying the facility.”
He said, “We have created 17 committees in 17 states. We have people in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Bihar, Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, to name a few…and over 3000 volunteers are working on this and its volunteer-based, there are no members.”
OFBJP was founded in 1991, and it currently has 3000 volunteers and 50,000 outreach partners across the US. “No one donates to BJP nor do they donate to us,” he said.
Prasad said that Indian citizens who live in the US have to go back to India to vote. “A few years ago, an Election Commission of India delegation visited the US and talked to people. The members visited consulates and took opinions and researched a couple of options like online voting, but nothing materialized. So, yes, if you have to vote you have to go to India.”
A naturalized citizen himself, Prasad said he cannot vote, but will be helping and working on NRI issues, including handling of property, and even the setting up of an NRI Commissioner at the federal level.
