Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched the feet of veteran BJP leader Makhanlal Sarkar during an oath ceremony in Kolkata this Saturday [4].
The gesture highlights the BJP's efforts to honor its grassroots foundations as it celebrates the swearing-in of its first government in West Bengal.
The event took place at the Brigade Parade Ground [3], where the Prime Minister sought blessings from Sarkar to recognize his decades of contribution as a party organizer in the state [5]. The interaction served as a symbolic bridge between the party's current leadership and its earliest organizers in the region.
Reports on Sarkar's exact age vary, with sources citing him as either 97 [2] or 98 years old [1]. Despite the discrepancy, the Prime Minister's public display of respect for the elder leader was a central moment of the proceedings.
Sarkar has spent decades building the party's presence in West Bengal, often working in the background to establish the grassroots network that the BJP now utilizes for its governance in the state [5]. The act of touching the feet is a traditional Indian sign of respect for elders and mentors, emphasizing a continuity of ideological struggle.
While some reports described the interaction as a hug, other accounts focused on the act of touching the feet to seek blessings [1], [2]. The ceremony marks a significant political shift for the region, coinciding with the party's first formal assumption of power in the state.
“PM Modi touched the feet of veteran BJP leader Makhanlal Sarkar”
This event serves as a strategic cultural signal by the BJP to validate its historical struggle in West Bengal. By publicly honoring a grassroots veteran like Makhanlal Sarkar during the swearing-in of the state's first BJP government, the party is attempting to frame its current victory not as a sudden surge, but as the culmination of decades of organizational labor.
