JOIN USModi 'bhakts' on a mission in Telangana
Sanjay Ch (44) sounds as disappointed as Komatireddy Rajgopal Reddy after the Munugodu assembly bypoll loss.
Sanjay has no connection with the BJP candidate nor any formal attachment with the party. But the US-returned techie along with several highly placed professionals and entrepreneurs in Hyderabad, have been operating election after election in Telangana, with the sole aim of “seeing PM Narendra Modi win”.
Sanjay, Sheetal Chopra, Aravind Uppalapati and hundreds of their friends are quintessential “bhakts”, who did not stop at Facebook and Twitter to defend Modi.
They have, under the banner “Pro-Namo” (Professionals for Narendra Modi), been campaigning on the ground for “Modi's party” BJP's success since the 2019 general elections from the Secunderabad Lok Sabha constituency. Their next stops were Dubbaka (2020), Huzurabad (2021) bypolls and the Hyderabad civic body elections (2020), places where BJP tasted success.
Their latest outing in Munugodu with a convoy of about 20 cars, was something of envy for the rival party politicos, but the BJP ended up losing the cliffhanger polls.
Pro-Namo volunteers travel to constituencies via car-pooling, manage their expenses, and mostly return home to Hyderabad by night, drawing no support from the party. “Most of the time, the BJP people don’t even know we are moving in the constituency. Sometimes, however, we take their inputs in relatively unknown areas,” Sanjay said, who gave two to three weekends for each bypolls.
The senior IT professional thinks they should not have taken such advice in Munugodu. “Going by local advice, we campaigned in interiors instead of Choutuppal, a semi-urban space along the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, where we could have better connected with the educated youth,” Sanjay said.
After the loss, Komatireddy attributed Choutuppal, where BJP had expected a handsome lead over TRS, as the reason.
With limited volunteers and resources, ProNamo operates motivated by the fact that a handful of votes, or even one, can alter an election outcome.
“Our contribution is small, attempting to turn a few hundred voters in a constituency in favor of Modi. We give the voters the same reasons why we adore Modi – his inspiring persona, strong leadership, corrupt free governance etc.,” says Sheetal Chopra, a management consultant associated with a corporate firm.
Aravind Uppalapati (44), a US-returned techie now running a food startup in Hyderabad, says they are planning to double their network in Hyderabad to 1,000 in a year from the present 500. ProNamo's strength was 150 when they started off in 2019.
The Munugodu letdown has made ProNamo active members like Sanjay and Aravind "more resolute to work for Modi's hat-trick in 2024 and the Telangana assembly elections falling in between next year."
For the 2023 polls, ProNamo has targeted the 25 assembly seats in and around Hyderabad.