BJP to invite 10,000 chai-wallahs to Modi's 22 December Mumbai rally

Mumbai: On 22 December, you may just have to do without  visiting your local chai-wallah. The BJP is pulling out all the stops to make its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s rally scheduled for 22 December a “grand” success, and in a strong message to Congress is inviting as many as 10,000 tea vendors to attend the public meeting. [caption id=“attachment_1283329” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi. PTI[/caption] “Around 10,000 tea vendors from the city will be invited to attend Modiji’s rally. We will send invitations to them soon,” a party functionary said last evening. Since he was named the party’s prime ministerial nominee, Modi has been referring to his humble background as a tea vendor to strike a chord with the common people and to take on Nehru-Gandhi family. “By inviting tea vendors, we will send out a message to Congress,” the functionary said. Apart from 5,000 private buses, the state unit has also booked 20-22 trains to ferry its workers from various parts of the state to attend the rally to be held at MMRDA grounds. As many as 20,000 students from the city will also participate in the rally through BJP’s Yuva Shakti campaign, a party leader said. According to an office-bearer, state BJP leaders want to make the rally a big success by attracting huge crowds similar to Modi’s Hunkar rally in Patna. While Congress has accused Modi of playing to the gallery by referring to his humble background, senior party leader Digvijaya Singh recently said even a ‘chaiwala’ (tea vendor) can become prime minister of the country. Recently, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Naresh Agarwal created a flutter, saying “someone rising from a tea shop can never have a national perspective”. However, Modi turned the “chaiwala” slur to his advantage, saying, “A person who polishes boots can also change the fate of a nation”. PTI