The Half Million Modi Selfies

[Lord ZeN]

Over half a million people have taken a “Selfie with Modi” since the campaign to bring the prime minister’s face onto the Facebook walls and smartphones of the masses began last week.

The ruling-Bharatiya Janata party wanted to reach tech-savvy voters in Delhi as the state prepares to vote in local polls on Saturday by offering them a chance to have their picture taken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, or at least his digital avatar.

These pictures are the product of a special smartphone app. A party worker takes a photo with a cellphone and Mr. Modi’s image miraculously appears in the shot.
The BJP says the last Modi selfie was taken on Thursday after a late surge in interest as the capital geared up for polling. Over 500,000 people posed in special booths, the organizers said.

That’s roughly seven times the number of selfies taken at the start of the week, when the party said it collected around 70,000 images.

“In the last few days, the election fever caught on,” said Arvind Gupta, the head of information and technology division of BJP.

The subjects of the selfies can then get their photos by email or download them from the party website.

Those who give permission are also featured on the dedicated website Selfiewithmodi.com that on Friday listed only a few hundred images taken across Delhi’s 70 constituencies.

The BJP says it set up selfie booths in shopping malls and parking lots across 500 locations in Delhi in the run up to elections. Earlier, it said it had more than a 1,000 booths across the capital.

Voters in Delhi go to the polls on Feb. 7. Results are expected on Feb. 10.

The Half Million Modi Selfies - India Real Time - WSJ