From ‘400 paar’ to ‘teesri bar Modi sarkar’ — how chants at the BJP office changed

Close to 11.30 am, Vijay Kumar Patel, a BJP worker from Prayagraj who had arrived in Delhi for counting day, said: “This is still the beginning. In places like UP, they may have had some benefit from the Congress-SP alliance. But they don’t have a strong leader. Maybe there will be some clarity only after 12 pm or 1 pm… then we will know what numbers we can cross. Kam-zyaada hona nishchit hai (the numbers may be a little higher or lower), but our government will be formed.”

‘Ab ki baar 400 paar’ read the sign attached to the front of Ratan Ranjan’s bicycle, which brought him to Delhi from Bihar, he said. As he stood outside the party office, the cycle’s carrier had a life-size cardboard cutout of Modi. In the afternoon, the sign on the bicycle changed to ‘phir ek baar Modi sarkaar.’

By noon, party spokespersons at the office were cautious, but repeated that what mattered in the end was the NDA would be able to form the government. Party spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said: “This is just halftime… we will form the government, our next PM is Narendra Modi and our vision for 100 days is already fixed. There is a plan in place for the next 5 years and even 10 years.”

The caution at the party office persisted all through the afternoon as the NDA’s leads remained below the 300-mark.

Around 1 pm, party spokesperson Shazia Ilmi, said: “There have been some upsets. What we see from Rajasthan and UP is obviously not as good as what we thought it was. Ours is a different sort of party, we value the verdict of the people. We have never questioned any of our institutions… and never blamed EVMs. Nevertheless, there have been great gains in Odisha, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.”

Around 1.45 pm, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said: “Certainly, the BJP and NDA were working towards getting a larger majority. But the fact of the matter is, for the third time consecutively, the BJP-led NDA is going to form a government in the Centre. It has happened only once in the history of independent India…”

Similarly, spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said they would “wait for the results to solidify by around 4-5 pm.” Pointing to “positive” takeaways, he added: “… After 10 years (in power)… the NDA is already past the halfway mark… the BJP has now become a party to reckon with in Odisha, the BJP has now grown in Kerala and Tamil Nadu…”

Even as spokespersons were wary, party workers began distributing sweets by around 2.30 pm and some gathered around a TV to watch the numbers. Ramvaran Singh, a worker from Delhi, said, “It’s not 400 paar, but Modi will still be PM.”

The tempo went up a few notches in the evening as the NDA hovered below the 300-mark, with a band entering the premises. “Yes, it is still below 300, but we’ll still form the government; for the third time, Modi will become the Prime Minister. This despite the Congress making a comeback in some ways… maybe people thought Rahul Gandhi would be able to do something after the Bharat Jodo Yatra,” said Lakshmi Sharma, a worker from Delhi.

Celebrations continued till the time Modi and other party leaders were scheduled to arrive at the office later in the evening. Sanjay Goswami from Meerut, who spent all day at the office, blowing into a conch shell and holding a tall stick with the Prime Minister’s picture on it, took the chants a step further when he said: “Har baar Modi sarkaar, 2029 Modi sarkaar.”