HVK Archives: Vote-BJP letters arrive from US
Vote-BJP letters arrive from US - The Pioneer
Suman Guha Mozumder
()
February 10, 1998
Title: Vote-BJP letters arrive from US
Author: Suman Guha Mozumder
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: February 10, 1998
Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the US have
begun a letter-writing campaign to urge relatives back home to
vote the saffron party.
The Overseas Friends of the Bharatiya Janata Party (OFBJP), which
is said to have a following all over the US, has asked its
members and supporters to write to their friends, relatives and
even neighbours back home, urging them to vote for the BJP in the
general elections.
The decision to mount such a campaign was taken at a special
meeting of the OFBJP in Manhattan, where about 70 people,
including its president, Dinesh Aggarwal, were present.
"We have urged all Non Resident Indians (NRIs) to call, write,
send e-mail or faxes to their friends and relatives for voting
BJP," OFBJP spokesperson Jagdish Sewhani said.
Sewhani said a few thousand messages have been sent and more are
in the offing.
The "Vote for BJP" messages, whether on fax or E-mail, are not
being drafted by the group but are being sent individually.
But what difference can a few thousand letters possibly make when
the total is close to 600 million? Sewhani believes that
although the impact may be small, it would be positive. "On the
face of it," he said, "it may look a small effort, but whenever
an NRI advises somebody back home, whether a relative or a
friend, it does make some kind of impact."
The OFBJP is also advertising in ethnic newspapers. About a
dozen-odd members of the group have left for various states in
India to help the party in its campaign.
Asked if the group has raised funds for the BJP's election
campaign, Sewhani said, "The BJP does not want us to raise funds
for them. All it needs is our support."
The OFBJP has scheduled three more meetings, one each in Boston.
Houston and Los Angeles, in the next couple of days, to spread
the message to NRIs.
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