Forget choppers, politicians find trains better to connect with people

By Archana Sharma

Jaipur, May 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) Veteran politicians, till date, were seen taking up helicopters, planes and high-end four-wheelers to travel on roads to attend political rallies, meetings and conventions.

However, the time has changed now as party leaders are taking up train journeys to connect to the masses.

BJP state president Satish Poonia started the trend after taking a train journey to visit Kota.

After becoming the state chief, his first visit was to Kota, the home turf of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and a place which is nearer to former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's constituency. So it was necessary to make some noise to attract eyeballs. The videos of the train journey went viral on social media and, hence came the traction as required, said sources.

After Poonia, former Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also took up a train to visit the Gangapur City. A huge crowd gathered at the railway station with bouquets, flowers and garlands for his reception.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra is also travelling by train to Mt Abu on May 22. "The Governor shall travel with his staff to Mt Abu by train this time," confirmed one of sources from the Governor's House on Sunday.

As trains allow a vast networking scope with masses, more leaders taking the que have started riding trains.

Rahul Gandhi boarded a train for Udaipur from Delhi's Sarai Rohilla railway station along with a few senior leaders to attend the Congress' three-day 'Chintan Shivir'. He was welcomed by huge masses at different railway stations.

In all such cases, the pictures of train travel of these leaders went viral bringing in trains back on social media.

When asked the reason why trains are becoming the choice to travel even when North India is reeling under heat waves, Sachin Pilot said, "Trains have emerged as the best platform for politicians as they get to communicate with many voters. During the pandemic, people distanced themselves from one another and packed themselves in their houses. So we wanted them to connect with us. And hence came the idea of train journeys."

"In fact, what I feel is that train journeys take you to the real voters who are citizens of India, they are not represented by any party and give you feedback which can be considered as a productive feedback of the nation. These are people of all backgrounds, who interact, understand what you say and represent sentiments of the countrymen. The best thing is that there are no biased views coming from them as they talk freely without any biased purview and hence this is the preferred mode of transportation," he said.

Meanwhile Poonia said, "Train is one of the biggest networks in the world which represents Indian culture and diversity. It connects the public from all corners where you can meet people, families from different backgrounds and talk to them to get instant feedback. In fact, for politicians who are mostly on roads, it gives a little solace as well, for you can have a little nap of around three to four hours and take rest."

"The best thing about the train is that it connects you with all classes of people while sitting inside one coach and on one seat," he said.

Source: IANS