First came the car; then came the roar.

The clock showed 7.22pm as a mini-truck with a slew of cameramen appeared on Bidhan Sarani, at its intersection with Balaram Ghosh Street. Enough giveaway for a crowd waiting on the other side of the barricades for over three hours.

Deafening roars of “Modi-Modi” and “Jai Shree Ram” rang the evening air. Seconds later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged, standing on an open-boot truck, face shining in the glow of the floodlights along the road.

A smiling Modi — joined by Bengal’s Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari, state
BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar and the party’s Kolkata North and Dum Dum nominees, Tapas Roy and Silbhadra Dutta — kept waving at the crowd which erupted in a frenzy.

Unequivocal endorsement of Modi was on many lips, Metro found in the over two hours spent at Shyambazar. The north Calcutta pocket was decked out with saffron flags and giant Modi cut-outs. But behind the frenzy, there were also murmurs.

Ram and rashtra

A man dressed as Ram was leaning on the barricade, his bow resting on the bamboo structures. This Ram came from Tamluk in East Midnapore, where former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay is contesting on a BJP ticket.

He is also a namesake of the BJP’s Bengal face and son of the same soil. Subhendu Das, who works at a marble tiles store, said he turns up as Ram in BJP poll campaigns to “stir the passion of Hindutva”.

He had gone similarly dressed to Haldia, where Modi was slated to address a rally on May 20 but could not because of bad weather.

“Today is special. I always wanted Modiji to see me as Ram,” Das said after the convoy passed.

Mahavir Rathi, 70, came from Burrabazar.

He wore a lotus-shaped headgear that had a portrait of Modi.

Many people in the crowd huddled around him for pictures. Rathi obliged everybody.

“I can be the last standing bhakt of Modiji. I will not desert him even if everyone else does,” said Rathi.

He said “rashtrabhakti (devotion to the country)” was Modi’s biggest quality. The crowd around him responded with a loud “Jai Shree Ram” cry.

A conversation

Suresh Sadhukhan, 80, was sitting on the roak (a bench-like structure) of a building on Balaram Ghosh Street, one of the several bylanes that meet Bidhan Sarani.

The Bagbazar resident had walked from his home to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister. He was different from the swarm of devotees.

“So many people have come to see Modi. But he is yet to do anything that has made a difference to the lives of these people. He has done one thing — bring religion into politics like never before,” Sadhukhan told this newspaper.

Kashinath Halder, a Dum Dum resident, was seated beside Sadhukhan.

The 61-year-old had come to the CESC office in Fariapukur to pay his monthly electric bill. But the barricades on the road prevented him from crossing over to the other side of Bidhan Sarani. Halder decided to wait to see Modi up close.

Halder joined the discussion, saying the country was “divided on the basis of religion” during Partition.

“Pakistan was created for Muslims. But many Indian Muslims chose to stay back and create several mini-Pakistans in India,” he said.

Sadhukhan protested in his frail voice.

“The Muslims who stayed back chose India over Pakistan. India is as much their country as ours,” he said.

‘Ray of hope’

Dipak Ghosh, 62, had come from Ballygunge Phari to see Modi.

“Ashar alo (ray of hope),” is how he described Modi.

Asked what difference Modi had made in his 10 years in power, Ghosh shot back, saying India needed Modi for “15 more years” to become a developed country.

He did one better than Modi himself, who has set a target of 2047 for India to become a developed country.

Bitter pill

Several stores along the pavements of Bidhan Sarani were shut. Those that remained open were deserted.

Tapas Banerjee, the owner of Bharati Stores that sells saris, had yet to make the first sale of the day. It was 4.30pm.

The road outside was flooded with BJP supporters but the barricades meant restricted movement. The stretch was virtually off-limits for shoppers.

Asked if his business grew under Modi’s rule, Banerjee gave a wry smile.

“He is like a doctor who is prescribing pills but without effect (oshudh dichchhen, kaaj hochchhe na),” Banerjee said.

GST is one such pill, he said.

“It may be good for big businessmen. But for small traders like me, all GST has done is that it is has led to a rise in input costs. But my income has been dipping,” he said.